The Port Green-Lights the Wood Pellet Terminal Project

10/31/2013

Québec, October 31, 2013 – The Québec Port Authority (QPA) is pleased to announce that it has given the green light to the wood pellet terminal project, which was presented publicly last June. This decision was made after analysis of the final environmental study presented by Quebec Stevedoring Company Limited (QSL), the project promoter. 
   

The terminal will be built and run by QSL and become operational in fall 2014. It will be used mainly to transfer wood pellets whose handling and storage must be done entirely under cover. The terminal will include two silos, one covered rail off-loading station and a covered conveyor system. It will be located in the western part of the Anse au Foulon sector. 
 
  
The new terminal will see more than 400,000 tonnes of wood pellets pass through its doors each year. The pellets will arrive by rail in three 25-car trains per week, on average. They will leave in one ship each month for the United Kingdom, where they will be used as a coal alternative to fuel power plants.  
 
  
Significant benefits 
 
  
The project, which represents an investment of more than $20 million, will create 260 jobs in the construction phase and over 100 direct and indirect jobs once the terminal is in operation. Over 10 years, the project should generate additional provincial tax revenues of almost $32 million and additional municipal tax revenues of about $5 million. The new terminal will also revitalize the Anse au Foulon sector and offer new export opportunities for the Quebec and Canadian forest industries.



“The wood pellet terminal is a concrete example of a strong project that will create value while respecting the environment and the community. The wood pellet terminal is state-of-the-art export infrastructure, and its environmental impact has undergone exhaustive study. The terminal will create wealth here in Quebec and is exactly the kind of project we hope for to guarantee the growth of the Port of Québec,” said Mario Girard, President and CEO of the QPA.

With the QPA’s prior consent, preparatory work on the project has already begun, and the construction work itself can now commence. In the next few days, people living in the sectors beside Anse au Foulon will receive detailed information about the terminal. The community relations committee has been kept up to date with the project progress over the past few months.



The QPA will take steps in the coming months to see that the terminal is optimally integrated into the urban landscape. It will work with a specialized firm which has been put in charge of ensuring the terminal is visually consistent with the Promenade Samuel-de-Champlain.

This project is perfectly in line with the QPA’s development strategies for the Anse au Foulon sector, which are to focus on breakbulk (biomass), develop covered handling for new tonnage and encourage intermodality with a small carbon footprint through transit by train and boat.

The project’s environmental impact study is available on the QPA’s website, at www.portquebec.ca.

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For additional information:



Anick Métivier

Assistant Director, Communications and Public Relations

Québec Port Authority

Phone: 418-648-3640

Email: [email protected]