Braslovče - BSW Timber, a Scottish forestry group, has shelved plans to build a large sawmill in Gomilsko, west of Celje, due to delays in the construction of a key connecting road and local opposition to the plan. It may however build the sawmill elsewhere in Slovenia.

The news was confirmed for the STA by Janez Mazej, a representative for BSW Timber in Slovenia. He said there were several other locations under consideration in Slovenia but he could not reveal any details until appropriate agreements were signed.

The Ministry of Economic Development and Technology meanwhile told the STA that talks with BSW Timber were ongoing and that it could not provide any more detailed information. BSW Timber has recently filed an application for an investment incentive from the state.

Braslovče Mayor Tomaž Žohar said the municipality and BSW Timber had signed an agreement terminating all mutual obligations regarding the planned sawmill.

"We are now drawing up a zoning plan for the location to build a nursing home and service residences," he said.

Construction of the sawmill, which was to be the biggest installation of its kind in Slovenia, was initially expected to start in 2018 and formed part of plans for a wood processing centre estimated at EUR 40 million.

The plan has been beset by delays concerning zoning for a crucial connecting road. In 2019, locals formed a civil initiative opposing the sawmill on the grounds that it would destroy the best farmland in the fertile Savinja Valley and have a negative impact on local living standards due to lorries that would service the sawmill every day.