Chesterfield, Virginia, USA 29 September 2016 -- (From The Observer) -- Chinese-owned Tranlin Inc. is taking a major step to proceed with its planned, $2 billion pulp mill in eastern Chesterfield County.

Tranlin, which is in the process of rebranding the company as Vastly, has contracted with internationally known Jacobs Engineering Group to handle permitting for the project and develop the preliminary design of the plant.

Jacobs will help Vastly obtain more than 20 environmental and construction permits involving multiple regulatory agencies, the company said in a news release.

The paper company, which plans on using farm waste to make paper tissue products and fertilizer at an 850-acre site in eastern Chesterfield that abuts the James River, had been dogged recently with talk of delays because of problems obtaining land and moving forward with the complex project.

"We anticipate a concentrated effort in conjunction with the state and federal regulators over the next 18-20 months," Robert Burnley, a senior Tranlin adviser and former director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, said in a prepared statement.

The Tranlin project is thought to be potentially the largest Chinese investment in Virginia and the United States. Officials broke ground for the project last October, although little physical progress has been made so far.

Tranlin officials have said that the project is still scheduled to be fully operational by 2020 and will employ 2,000.

Jacobs Engineering Group is a Fortune 500 company based in Pasadena, California. It specializes in the design and construction of large industrial projects, such as oil refineries, pipelines and process facilities. The company has 50,000 employees and 230 offices in the Americas, the Middle East, Australia, Europe and Asia.

Earlier this summer, Tranlin, a subsidiary of Shandong Tranlin Paper Co., based in northeastern China, announced it was changing its name to Vastly. But for now Tranlin remains the company's legal name.