Canada: McInnis Cement CEO quits after new plant cost overruns

The chief executive officer of McInnis Cement, Christian Gagnon, has stepped down after it emerged that the cost of constructing the company’s new 2.2Mta Port-Daniel integrated plant had gone over budget by CAD450m (US$346m).

McInnis’s investment was partly financed by government bodies, including Quebecois provincial authorities and also included a CAD360m (US$277m) loan from the National Bank of Canada.

According to Radio-Canada, when news of the spiralling costs of the project first emerged this June, Quebec’s economy minister Dominque Anglade called on the company to “review its management”.

The company has appointed Ronald Bougie as interim CEO while it searches for a permanent replacement.