PORTLAND (AP) – A Connecticut company completed its $23.7 million purchase of the bankrupt Eastern Pulp and Paper Corp., clearing the way for more than 300 people to return to work at the Lincoln mill as early as Tuesday.

First Paper Holding LLC completed the paperwork and money transfers Friday to assume ownership of mills in Lincoln and Brewer.

There were no plans to reopen the former Eastern Fine Paper mill in Brewer, which was viewed as less competitive than the Lincoln mill. Instead, it will be redeveloped by the city.

But First Paper plans to employ 360 people at the Lincoln mill, which will be renamed the Lincoln Paper and Tissue Co.

Gov. John Baldacci said he plans to join First Paper’s Keith Van Scotter at the mill gates to greet returning workers at the start of their shift Tuesday morning.

A skeleton crew has been working at the mill for the last few weeks and more workers are expected to arrive on Thursday or Friday to complete maintenance work and restart production, said John Wissmann, a partner in First Paper.

“The opening of Lincoln Paper and Tissue benefits the entire region,” Baldacci said. “There was an outstanding level of support and cooperation behind saving these mill jobs.”

The mill will be the third to reopen during during the Baldacci administration, after mills in East Millinocket and Old Town. All told, the reopenings preserve 1,300 jobs, with a total payroll of $3 million.

Every mill job has a multiplier effect that creates six other jobs, the governor’s office said. Taking into account this multiplier effect, the 1,300 jobs impact 8,400 additional jobs with a total payroll of $60 to $70 million.

Eastern Pulp filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2000 but continued to operate until January, when the mills were shut down. A month later, its status was changed to Chapter 7 liquidation.

After ordering the mills abandoned, a bankruptcy judge took back the case in March and helped to shepherd the various parties including numerous creditors toward a deal for the sale of the company.

AP-ES-05-28-04 1735EDT