Following analysis of a related environmental study, Quebec Port Authority has given the green light to construction of the wood pellet terminal proposed by Quebec Stevedoring Company. The terminal will be built and run by QSL and should be in operation by the fall of 2014. It will be used mainly to transload wood pellets whose handling and storage must be performed 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 should see more than 400,000 tonnes of wood pellets pass through its facilities each year. 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 replacement for coal to fuel electric power generating 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 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 com munity. The terminal will create wealth here in Quebec and is exactly the kind of project we are looking for to sustain the growth of the port of Québec,” said Mario Girard, President and CEO of the Port Authority.
Preparatory work on the project has already begun, and construction work can now commence. The Port Authority will take steps in the coming months to see that the terminal is optimally integrated into the urban landscape, making sure it will be in visual harmony with Promenade Samuel de-Champlain.