Landing a deal: Bowater property purchase happens fast, paper markets slow

摘要

A month after the Nova Scotia government implemented its $50 million Bowater Mersey Investment Act on December 6, 2011, the province announced it had squared away the land purchase, which accounts for nearly half of the cash infusion for this struggling newsprint mill on the South Shore. But the news of a planned temporary shutdown soon afterwards served as a reminder that no amount of support can make the mill viable unless there is sufficient demand for the paper it produces. The land deal buys Nova Scotians 25,000 acres, for a total price of $23.75 million. The parcels are located in Annapolis, Hants, Lunenburg, Queens, and Shelburne Counties, and include productive forest, old-growth stands, ocean and lake frontage, wetlands, and some land of cultural significance to the Mi'kmaq.