Canola processing company Cargill is looking to plant some big capital in Regina: It announced April 22 afternoon plans for a $350-million canola crusher site to be built in the area.
The company expects to start building next year, with construction completion and actual operations set to go in 2024, according to a news release from the company.
Cargill hasn’t yet finalized which parcel of land it’s to use for the site, saying it “has options on a number of parcels of land near Regina.” It expects to pick a location in “the coming months.”
President Jeff Vassart said the facility won’t be an hour away from the city, but it also won’t be “on top of residential neighbourhoods.”
Cargill's news comes just as other companies are also eyeing mega projects near the city.
Last week, the Regina Leader-Post revealed that Viterra is the so-called unnamed, mystery buyer of city-owned land on the northern outskirts, according to sources. Viterra has not confirmed the news or spoken further of its plans. City council approved a plan to sell the land for $4 million, about $2.3 million below the appraised value.
Vassart added he’s confident about the canola processing industry, both in terms of competition and growth.
He confirmed the province’s value-added agriculture tax incentive was a motivating factor in making the Regina investment.
“We operate in 70 countries around the world and so we've got a lot of different geographies in which we can invest our owner's capital.” Governments in the province have “been very good to work with to guide us through the decision-making process on where should Cargill invest.”
The incentive is a 15-per cent tax rebate on capital expenditures valued at at least $10 million for new or expanded agriculture facilities.
When the site is operational Cargill plans to hire 50 full-time, permanent employees; it expects the two-year construction period to create approximately one million hours of employment.
The company projects the site will process one million metric tonnes of seed each year, the same output as its facility in Camrose, Alta.
Cargill also plans this year to do “modernization projects at its canola crush facilities in Camrose and Clavet,” the latter of which processes 1.5 million metric tonnes per year.
Meanwhile, at the start of this month, Federated Co-operative Ltd. announced that it had acquired the assets of True North Renewable Fuels, which is working on biofuel production in Regina. True North's plan wasn't to have an operational plant until 2025.
