Pomerleau, Alberici start work on new Molson Coors brewery in Longueuil, Que.

A rendering of the new plant on a 140 acre site in Longueuil. PHOTO: Molson Coors

LONGUEUIL, Que.—Molson Coors has officially started work on a major new Quebec brewery, the latest step in a shift away from its historic roots on the shore of the St. Lawrence River in old Montreal.

Contractors Pomerleau Inc. and Alberici Constructors Ltd. are partnering to build the new manufacturing plant that the beer maker said last year it would spend up to $500 million on. The site will cover 140 acres in the Montreal suburb of Longueuil and include both brewing and distribution operations.

Molson Coors said it chose the site for its access to high quality water, as well as transportation and energy infrastructure.

Matthew Hook, chief supply chain officer for the company’s Canadian operations, said the facility will be the company’s most modern and forward-looking to date.

“The new brewery will be equipped with improved technologies that will allow us to reduce our energy consumption, CO2 emissions and carbon footprint, such as optimized equipment layouts to reduce beer loss and waste, and a state-of-the-art CO2 recovery system,” he said in a statement.

Construction on the new plant is expected to run until 2021.

Between 500 and 800 workers will be on site throughout the three years of construction.

As work progresses, the company plans to sell much of the land currently occupied by its historic Montreal plant. Though the company will retain enough real estate to maintain its headquarters as well as a microbrewing operation on the more than two-century-old site, most of the beer giant’s operations will be shifted to the other side of the St. Lawrence.