The expansion of the distribution center of the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) in Montreal exploded. His bill will ultimately be three times higher than expected, the Journal learned.
On the recommendation of the SAQ’s board of directors, the Quebec government has just adopted a decree authorizing the state-owned company to expand its Montreal distribution center for “a sum not exceeding $137 million “.
This decree replaces that of January 2021, which provided for the injection of $45.8 million, i.e. three times less than currently required. It was, it was said at the time, the largest investment to be made in an SAQ infrastructure for 20 years.
An inflationary context
In an interview on Wednesday, the SAQ’s vice-president of supply chain, Luc Bourdeau, explained to the Journal that the inflationary context had forced the state-owned company to revise its financial forecasts.
The latter were based on calculations dating from the 2019-2020 fiscal year, before the Covid-19 pandemic hit in Quebec. Since then, he says, the costs of materials – steel in particular – and labor have driven up the bills for most construction projects, big and small.
“We were very vigorous, he defends himself. But the SAQ, like the rest of society, is not immune to the inflationary forces that are going on right now.”
Courtesy picture
The bill for expanding the SAQ’s distribution center in Montreal goes from $45.8M to $137M.
The Montreal distribution center is located at 7500, rue Tellier, in the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. The project involves adding 200,000 sq. ft. to the building, built in 1975, which now has 884,190 sq. ft.
The SAQ is currently in a call for tenders for the awarding of a construction management mandate. Construction should follow thereafter with a view to final delivery, no longer in 2024, but in April 2025.
Automation planned for 2027
This will be followed by the implementation of new automation systems intended, among other things, for the preparation of online orders. Its commissioning is expected for the beginning of 2027.
It should be noted that the costs of this robotization of the distribution center were not taken into account in the last envelope ($137M) granted to the SAQ. They will probably be the subject of a next envelope, the amount of which still remains a mystery.
This Wednesday, 4,057 wines and spirits are sold online on the state-owned company’s website. At the start of 2021, management said it wanted to offer Quebecers, at the end of this expansion, nearly 20,000 products, including privately imported products.
With Sylvain Larocque