The venture, which will go by the name of Adelaide Blue Gum Pty Ltd, was officially launched at a ceremony near Myponga and at the Quality Resort McCracken in late July.

The celebration at the Quality Resort was attended by representatives from Japan, council Mayors Peter Whitford, Scott Schubert and Kym McHugh, Member for Finniss Dean Brown, representatives of PIRSA, Rural Solutions, shipping agents and parliamentary secretary Carmel Zollo.

The tree planting ceremony at Myponga involved Paul Holloway, agriculture, food and fisheries minister; representatives from Mitsubishi Paper Mills and Hokuetsu Paper Mills and Adelaide Blue Gum Pty Ltd.

According to Holloway, Australian Blue Gum will invest $70million in procuring suitable land and in establishing Tasmanian blue gum tree farms, which will be harvested after about ten years and the wood fibre used in the manufacture of high quality papers.

The company will also establish 10,000 hectares of blue gum through the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu over ten years.
The project, which has involved both the Labor and Liberal Governments, has been in development since 1998. The wood chips produced will be exported to Japan for processing at Mitsubishi Paper Mills and Hokuetsu Paper Mills.

Both companies make high quality printing paper, and both say they are committed to be producing the vast majority of their products from plantation timber projects such as this one.

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