Alcoa growth projects in Québec
On March 4, 2008, after several years of discussion, Jean Charest, the Premier of Québec, and Alain Belda, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Alcoa, announced the signing of an agreement to oversee the development of Alcoa Canada Primary Metals to 2040 and beyond.
This agreement provides for renewal of the existing power supply contracts and for making additional blocks of energy available to Alcoa so that it can expand its activities in Québec, beginning with the modernization of the Baie- Comeau Smelter.
This $1.2 billion investment will allow the replacement of the Söderberg technology, now used in part of the smelter, by prebaked anode technology. Upon completion of the modernization, slated for 2015, production will grow to 548,000 metric tons/year – 110,000 more than the current production – while GHG emissions will be reduced by 40%, and emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons will be practically eliminated.
The modernized plant will support 3,900 direct and indirect jobs, and produce additional economic spin-offs of almost $500 million, thus bringing to close to $2 billion the total annual economic spin-offs attributable to Alcoa Canada Primary Metals.
The March 4 agreement also includes the renewal of power supply contracts for the Bécancour and Deschambault smelters, and the speeding up of discussions on the project to expand the Deschambault smelter to increase its production to the level of new, world-class facilities.
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