Irving sets sights on $1.1B upgrade for Saint John pulp and paper mill

Some billion-dollar changes are potentially coming to one of the biggest employers in Saint John, N.B.

Irving Pulp & Paper, Ltd., has announced plans for a new recovery boiler at its Saint John mill. The cost of the project would come in at $1.1 billion and would increase production by roughly 66 per cent, according to the company. The current boiler at the west side facility is from the 1970s.

“These upgrades will ensure Saint John’s pulp mill continues to be at the heart of the province’s forest products supply chain, and provides a regional market for chips, bark and pulpwood,” said Mark Mosher, vice president of Irving Pulp & Paper in a press release.

The changes would also allow for several new environmental upgrades to the mill, including a new turbine and green energy generator which, according to the release, will help decarbonized New Brunswick’s electrical grid.

It would also see technical advancements to re-use water and reduce the facility’s water intake, and will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from the mill.

Over the proposed four years of construction, Irving says more than $172 million would be generated in tax revenue for both the province and municipal government, the GDP would be boosted by $711 million, and there would be numerous opportunities for local contractors.

A rendered pictured of what the upgraded Irving Pulp & Paper mill would look like if plans go ahead. (Source: Irving Pulp & Paper)

In the long term, the company says the improvements will add 600 jobs in the forest supply chain, boost employment income by 38 per cent in the forest products supply chain, and generate $10 million annually basis to provincial and local tax revenues.

The project would be solely funded by Irving Pulp & Paper, Ltd., according to an environmental impact study conducted by Fundy Engineering & Consulting Ltd.

It’s not only the mill slated for some change by the company.

J.D. Irving, Ltd., is also proposing a new wood chip production facility be built on the site of Bald Mountain Quarry, which is also on the city’s west side. The site is located close to the mill, and would help further reduce the company’s carbon emissions and costs associated with chip delivery. A quick fix and extension of the site’s rail line will also enable pulpwood to be received directly on site.

The company says the chipper would be housed in a building designed to reduce noise and prevent excess dust in the area. There is also an existing private JDI road built in 2006 that would avoid the additional set of public roads during transport.

The new wood chip production facility would be built on the site of the Bald Mountain Quarry in Saint John, N.B. (Source: Irving Pulp & Paper)

JDI Irving plans to hold an open house in the future on both projects to help share more information and answers questions from the public.

Councillor excited by investment

Saint John City Councillor Greg Norton calls it a generational investment to see more than a billon dollars go into the mill.

“We are really excited to see some of the adaptations that they are making here to make this mill more efficient,” says Norton. “When others are going by the way of the dinosaur, this mill is seeing some great success.

“This is going to help decarbonize not only from a provincial grid perspective but also help decarbonize what is going on here in our local economy.”

Norton adds the mill upgrades will reduce noise pollution for west side residents, and make the city much for liveable from an environmental perspective. He also believes it will add a boost to the local economy.

He says a traffic study has been done on how the upgrades will impact the area, noting gates may be added to the railway crossing at the Simms Corner intersection to lessen the noise from train whistles.

West siders already have to deal with road construction each day when trying to travel across the city due to the construction on the Harbour Bridge.

“(They) are used to this,” says Norton. “And I just ask them to be a little bit more patient for a little longer as JDI invests in this mill to make it better than they found it.”

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