Graphic courtesy of La Coop fédérée.
The new terminal at Anse au Foulon will have a capacity of 1.3 million tonnes per year of grains, valued at C$450 million.
It includes installation of grain storage and handling equipment near deep water docks that can accommodate large vessels.
The project will be subject to public consultation in the coming weeks. Once the project is approved by the Quebec Port Authority, development work can begin.
Work is scheduled to be completed in four phases until 2021. The first will include recovery and conversion of existing equipment, installation of a grain elevator tower and installation of a temporary station to receive boats.
In the second phase, six new silos will be constructed, two with the capacity of 15,000 tonnes of grain and four with 1,000-tonne capacity for residues. This phase also will include construction of a grain cleaning tower, two electrical substations, civil works, conveyors and permanent installation of a station for boats.
The final phases include two additional 15,000-tonne silos, construction of the car reception station, connection with the new silos and with the yard and connection to the existing tower and receiving station.
The Anse au Foulon site is a strategic location because it provides access to the St. Lawrence Seaway and deepwater wharves, the cooperative said. Existing infrastructure can be used, including two silos built in 2013 for the export of wood pellets. With access to existing rail and road network, the terminal could possibly operate all year.
“With a new export terminal, Canadian grain producers know that there will be an even more promising return on their investment in equipment and acreage,” said Sébastien Léveillé, executive vice-president of Agri-business at La Coop fédérée. “This major investment is therefore a structuring move for the entire Canadian agricultural industry.”
The terminal project will consolidate its activities in the Port of Quebec, specifically in Anse au Foulon, where it has operated for almost 30 years, a grain distribution center that also is used for warehousing local harvests.
“Our mission is to support local farmers by offering, in particular, structured opportunities for their production,” Léveillé said. “We know that this new terminal will be a driver of prosperity for Canadian farming families because it will increase storage capacity and open up new export markets.”
The Quebec government and the Fonds de solidarité FTQ are partners in the La Coop fédérée terminal project.
La Coop fédérée is the largest agri-food enterprise in Quebec and it is the 24th largest agri-food cooperative in the world.
It represents more than 120,000 members, members, agricultural producers and consumers grouped into nearly 70 cooperatives with operations spread out in many Canadian provinces.
