The original 2010 deadline for the mill to become operational is being reviewed, and a spokesman for the Spanish corrugated packaging company said no new date is available.

He said: "Unfortunately, due to the current economic climate, we are unable to bring the development forward to the original timescale."

However, he added that the company is pressing ahead with improvements both to the site and access to it.

In a deal undertaken by Peel Environment and SAICA, a 250-year lease has been purchased on land at Partington Wharfside, for the building of the site.

SAICA, which has an annual turnover of €2.1bn (£1.8m), said it will attempt to reduce capital costs on the project and negotiate with suppliers for the investment. A number of works on or around the site will also be undertaken in the next few months.

The company, which produces lightweight containerboard papers and corrugated containerboard packaging, aims to achieve a total capacity of 3m tonnes by 2017 and has invested €100m in its UK operations since last September.

The mill, which was announced last June, would use recovered paper to produce approximately 400,000 tonnes a year of lightweight 100% recycled paper once completed.