AGRANDISSEMENT DES INSTALLATIONS PORTUAIRES : MISE AU POINT

04/22/2015

Québec, April 22, 2015 – The President and CEO of the Québec Port Authority (QPA), Mario Girard, provides an important update on the Québec port facility expansion project in light of different information circulating in the media over the past few days.

The Port of Québec is a hub for international trade and the continental gateway for the Ontario-Quebec trade corridor. For decades, Québec port facilities have been used for dry and liquid bulk transfers. The newest port infrastructure is nearly 50 years old. The latest sector added, the Beauport sector, is currently being used at full capacity. For the purposes of restoring current infrastructure and decongesting the Beauport sector to meet current and projected commercial demand, the QPA is proposing to expand its infrastructure.

While the overall project presented as early as 2011 proposed simultaneously extending the wharf line and building a dolphin, in the fall of 2014, the QPA chose to submit Phase 1 of this overall project to the federal government under the Building Canada Plan. It proposes to extend the current wharf line by another 610 metres, to enlarge the area at the back of the wharf by 18.5 hectares and to consolidate and expand the Beauport Bay beach. The first phase was prioritized as a way of provisionally dealing with the congestion problem at the Beauport docks and of ensuring the sustainability of the infrastructure. The project that was presented therefore did not include Phase 2, in other words the dolphin. Note that the project will be presented to the public in greater detail and then submitted to a formal public consultation when funding is granted.

Furthermore, the Québec Port Authority is subject to a strict legislative and regulatory framework. For example, the Environmental Assessment Act, the Species at Risk Act, the Fisheries Act, and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and related regulations all apply to port projects.

“Consistent with the continuous growth of global maritime trade, the Plan Nord’s revival and the Maritime Strategy, and to ensure the sustainability of its infrastructure, the Port of Québec plans to continue furthering its mission to promote and develop maritime trade, serve the economic interests of the Quebec area and of Canada, and ensure profitability in a way that respects the community while meeting strict environmental requirements,” said Mr. Girard.

In closing, the Québec Port Authority would like to mention that the Beauport port facility could not accommodate TransCanada’s Energy East Pipeline Project for technical reasons. As far as a new oil terminal is concerned, no projects are being explored.

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Source:

Marie-Andrée Blanchet
Advisor, Public Relations and Events
Québec Port Authority
Tel.: 418-648-3640
[email protected]