The port of Baie-Comeau (File photo)
The Corporation de gestion du port de Baie-Comeau (CGPBC) is starting an information and discussion process regarding the work at Terminal No. 5 of the Port of Baie-Comeau.
< p class="e-p">The rehabilitation project is to include wharf reconstruction, dredging, parking lot redevelopment and wharf accessibility improvements, according to a CGPBC press release.< /p>
Thanks to the renovation of these facilities, the CGPBC wishes to increase the reception capacity of cargo ships by 40,000 tons at the port of Baie-Comeau. For now, only vessels of 20,000 tonnes can dock at Terminal No. 5, according to the director general of the Corporation de gestion du port de Baie-Comeau, Karine Otis.
< p class="e-p">What's more, the port is not able to accommodate large volumes of bulk cargo. The objective is to accommodate the future demand that we anticipate, particularly in terms of critical and strategic minerals, she specifies.
Consultations will take place during the summer until the end of next fall.
The renovation project is subject to the procedure of environmental impact assessment, says Ms. Otis.
As a first step, the provincial government will consult the public online. Quebec will then send a directive to the Corporation de gestion du port de Baie-Comeau regarding the environmental impact study that it will have to carry out. In the fall of 2023, the CGPBC plans to consult port users as well as immediate neighbours. Finally, economic authorities, environmental groups and citizens will be called upon to give their opinion on the expansion work.
In the coming weeks, the First Nations will also be consulted .
“We want to deploy an information and exchange process so that the project can be implemented harmoniously while responding as best as possible the needs, expectations and aspirations of the community. »
— Karine Otis, General Manager of the Corporation de gestion du port de Baie-Comeau
Karine Otis, General Manager of the Baie-Comeau Port Management Corporation (File photo)< /p>
In 2020, major works in the infrastructure of the port of Baie-Comeau were already considered urgent by the CGPBC.
Without being able to reveal the exact amount, the director general indicates that the work could cost tens of millions of dollars. The financial package is still being worked out, she points out.
Karine Otis says she hopes the terminal will be ready to receive ships in 2027. Now the environmental assessment process will probably modify this schedule, she advises.
The Corporation de gestion du port de Baie-Comeau is responsible for managing and develop Baie-Comeau port facilities.
With information from Camille Lacroix-Villeneuve
