On July 9, 2014 the GS Group holding, investor of the deep wood processing project in Pskov region, inaugurated the tree nursery for growing seedlings, which will be used within enterprise’s reforestation activities. It is the only private nursery in the North-West Federal District, using the technology of growing ball-rooted seedlings. The nursery volume of output is estimated 2 mln seedlings per year. It will allow restoring 1,000 ha of lost forest fund in Pskov region annually.
Construction of the tree nursery for growing ball-rooted seedlings was launched in Dedovichi district in 2013. Most of the seedlings, having already started to grow in the nursery, will be used for the needs of reforestation project within the GS Group logging unit activities. The remaining seedlings will come in the market. The nursery will also feature ornamental shrubs cultivation (from 55,000 to 60,000 units per year in prospect). The nursery production volume will reach 2 mln ball-rooted seedlings per year.
The first million seedlings was planted on the ground for hardening on July 9, another million was planted in greenhouses. The nursery is a greenhouse complex with area of 2.8 ha. In the nearest future the complex will also involve dendro garden for the ornamental plants cultivation with area of 2.6 ha.
"The GS Group holding implements the policy of environmental responsibility and carries out activities for forest conservation and reforestation by coniferous breeds, - commented Andrey Krus, Director of timber industry at GS Group. - We are the first company in the North-West region to invest in the construction of a nursery, working on the cutting-edge technology of growing ball-rooted seedlings. Complex of enterprises for deep wood processing provides a full cycle of works from logging and processing to forest resources restoration and non-waste production. During 2013 we managed to recover 52 ha of forests. The nursery will allow recovering up to 1,000 ha of softwood per year".
The technology of growing ball-rooted seedlings is applied in all the Scandinavian countries, most of the European countries, and the USA. The technology is unique as a root-taking of forest plantations rate is 95% (in comparison, in case of bare-rooted planting, the root-taking rate is usually up to 50%). Moreover, the period of planting in open ground (after a greenhouse) is not limited, and the trees faster reach the proper height (at least 1 meter) required for transferring to the forested area. This method is suitable for the cultivation of diverse varieties, species and crops of plants, especially for softwood intolerant for transplanting.
The nursery construction is included in the first stage of creating a complex of manufactures for deep wood processing by the GS Group holding. The agreement to start implementation of the investment project was signed between the Pskov administration and the holding GS Group in the summer of 2012. The complex was named Dedovichi on behalf of the village, located nearby.
The project is expected to be implemented by 2016 in three phases. It aims producing the high-quality building materials and other products designed to replace imports. Total investments in the complex will amount to 3,177 bln rubles. The first phase includes logging and tree nursery construction. The area of the forest fund, leased by the holding, is 73,000 ha.
The construction of the Sudoma wood factory, held within the second phase, started in August 2013. The enterprise will manufacture high-quality finishing materials for construction. The third phase of the project involves the construction of a plant for fuel granules (pellets) production.
