McInnis Cement completes financing for Port-Daniel plant, Canada

McInnis Cement has announced the completion of the financial structure for its cement plant in Gaspé, Canada.

National Bank of Canada, as sole bookrunner of the bank syndicate, has confirmed the availability of a US$360m loan for the project. This amount is in addition to the US$500m in equity from private and public investors including the joint venture formed by the groupe Beaudier and La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, as well as the participation of Investissement Québec (IQ). Furthermore, IQ has also provided a US$250m commercial loan, for a total of US$1.1bn.

According to McInnis Cement, the Port-Daniel cement plant will comply with NESHAP 2015 standards, and will use up to 40 per cent less fuel/t of cement than traditional cement plants through its utilisation of hydroelectric power. The project will take advantage of maritime transportation for fuel. The plant will burn petroleum coke but plans to partially substitute this with biomass from the Gaspé region over the coming years as part of its efforts to reduce GHG emissions.

Although the project is not subject to the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) process, McInnis Cement has released the documents related to the environmental assessment of the Port-Daniel cement plant project on a voluntary basis. The environmental Impact study has been updated and is available on the McInnis Cement. The monitoring committee of the project has been active since March 2013 and an information office has been opened in Port-Daniel since June 2013 to answer questions of citizens and workers wishing to learn more about the project.

Christian Gagnon, CEO of McInnis Cement said construction has begun and the project is “well under way.”