A £1bn development of a former paper mill could “completely transform recycling levels in the UK”, its owner has claimed.

Up to 2,000 contractors are working to transform Shotton Mill in Flintshire into one of the UK’s largest cardboard and tissue production facilities, which it is hoped will start operating next year.

Turkish firm Eren Holding said its new plant would be the most advanced of its kind in Europe and it marked part of the “renaissance of north Wales”.

The UK government described it as a “massive vote of confidence in the Welsh economy”, while the Welsh government said it was “excellent news” for Deeside and beyond.

The paper mill used to produce newsprint paper employing 530 people in the 1990s. However, that number dwindled with a decline in the demand for newsprint and the site was bought from UPM by family-owned Eren Holding in 2021.

It also includes an area which used to hold the blast furnace for Shotton Steelworks, which closed in 1980 with thousands of redundancies.

Eren Holding employs 14,000 people and has operations in sectors including energy production, paper manufacturing and retail.

Britain exports waste cardboard which is recycled overseas and imported back for sale in the UK.

Eren Holding said its new plant would process a quarter of the waste cardboard the UK currently sends abroad, and focus on creating containerboard – used to make packaging and corrugated boxes from recycled paper – as well as tissue products.

The company boasts it will be the most technologically advanced facility of its kind in Europe.

It also claimed it will turn Britain “from a net importer to a net exporter” of cardboard and tissue products and the development represents one of the “most significant foreign manufacturing investments in the UK in years”.

Board member Hamdullah Eren said: “This is the first step towards building a world class facility that will completely transform recycling levels in the UK.

“We cannot wait to start production and to turn our vision into reality.”

Sabri Cimen, chief executive officer, said: “This investment will build on the rich heritage of manufacturing on Deeside and it will bring together people, community, advanced technology and investment.”

The company said the plant would be “energy self-sufficient” with the creation of a hydrogen-enabled combined heat and power plant.

The UK government has agreed to underwrite a £136m export development guarantee, which helps companies access high value loan facilities.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “This is a massive vote of confidence in the Welsh economy.”

Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said: “Deeside has a long and proud history as one of Wales’ key industrial centres and this significant investment from our two governments will secure jobs and help bring a prosperous future for the area.”

The Welsh government said the development would safeguard 147 jobs and create 220 when the plant is fully operational.

Rebecca Evans, Wales’ secretary for economy, energy and planning, said it was “excellent news for Deeside and the wider Welsh economy”.

She added that the Welsh government had given £13m to the project to help safeguard and create jobs.

Jackie Pearson, director of corporate affairs for Shotton Mill, remembers going to Shotton Steelworks – where her father worked as a plumber – to collect his wages when she was six.

In 1985, aged 17, she started as an apprentice for the then Shotton Paper Company, based on the same site.

Now she is excited about its new lease of life.

“The whole place has given me opportunities to grow and develop, both as a person but also in my career. There’s a lot to be thankful for for this place. It’s just amazing to see this rising now out of the ground, the cranes in the air and the spades in the ground.

“It’s going to create a future for other people like me.”