Priority investment projects have been set a timber processing threshold of at least 50%

The Russian government has approved new rules for the implementation of priority investment projects in the forest industry complex. Resolution No. 467 of April 9 sets forth requirements for the depth of timber processing: starting from September 1, 2025, enterprises must process at least 50% of the volume of harvested timber; starting from 2027, the threshold will rise to 80%. Failure to comply with the established requirements will be grounds for excluding the project from the list of priorities.

The updated rules also clarify a number of requirements:

the project concept must now include a schedule for concluding contracts for forest taxation and design of forest conservation measures;
the regional agency's decision on application selection will be valid for one and a half years;
if Rosleskhoz refuses to approve the project, the investor will be able to revise the documents and re-submit them within 20 working days;
applications for project changes from September 1, 2025 will first be checked at the regional level - this should simplify the approval process.

Alexander Panfilov, Deputy Head of Rosleskhoz: "If the investor has fully fulfilled its obligations to create and modernize timber processing infrastructure facilities and put them into operation, then it will be prohibited to make changes to the priority investment project for the purpose of developing the forestry complex. This will speed up the process of concluding lease agreements and making a decision on completing the project. In the event of an investment project being excluded from the list of priority projects for the development of the forestry complex, forest lease agreements will be terminated by the lessor unilaterally.".

Rosleskhoz emphasized that the new requirements will help increase the share of deep timber processing, strengthen control over the implementation of projects, and simplify administrative procedures for bona fide investors.