Investment-Ready Industrial Sites

BNQ 2507-400
Investment-Ready Industrial Sites — Certification Document

Industrial development projects are subject to several laws and regulations. In order to take into account certain important issues, developers who acquire sites must conduct various studies and fulfil various administrative obligations before implementing an industrial development project. This often proves to be a long and complex process with an uncertain outcome. This uncertainty can constitute a limiting factor in the achievement of development projects.

Created in collaboration with the ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie (MEIE), which also offers financial assistance to certification applicants, and in cooperation with other relevant government departments, the certification program Investment-Ready Industrial Sites consists in collecting essential information as to the status of the industrial site in question regarding 25 requirements or criteria.

The industrial site owner who has completed the various verifications, studies, and administrative steps as established in this certification document will thus be able to obtain certification for his or her site before selling or leasing it for industrial use, and consequently simplify the site selection process for developers wishing to establish an investment project, by reducing the administrative delays and uncertainties.

In this context, it is not the mandate of the BNQ to verify the accuracy of the information provided by the owners of the industrial sites. It is the responsibility of the developers to exercise due diligence and to conduct the necessary research before investing in said sites. The BNQ offers no guarantee as to the quality, accuracy, completeness, or veracity of this information and accepts no responsibility as regards the updating of it or the communication of any possible amendments to it.

Certification Steps

1) Download BNQ 2507-400.

2) Fill out the request for certification form.

3) Obtain preliminary admissibility from the BNQ – unless otherwise specified by the applicant, the MEIE will receive a copy of the preliminary admissibility letter so that a person can be assigned to help you with the next step.

4) Complete the MEIE’s application for financial assistance.

5) Sign the BNQ’s service contract and pay the initial fees for opening the file.

6) Submit all required documentary evidence in accordance with the requirements of BNQ 2507-400 – a certificate of conformity will be issued once the file is complete and compliant.

Preliminary assessment

Certification of an investment-ready industrial site is conditional to meeting certain requirements. It is for this reason that the BNQ shall carry out a preliminary assessment of admissibility for which the following documentary evidence is required on application for certification:

• proof of ownership of the site;
• a document appointing an agent (if applicable);
• an attestation from the owner stating that he or she has been informed that the site in question shall have a surface area of at least one hectare after subtracting the non-developable areas;
• a letter of endorsement from the local municipality, the Band Council, or the Landholding Corporation;
• a document confirming that the site is situated outside an agricultural zone;
• an attestation from the owner confirming that the site in question is free of any outstanding geological sites.

Main certification program requirements

The main certification program requirements for investment-ready industrial sites are diverse. They concern the following:

• Contractual, legal and political issues: such as the title deeds, support from the municipal sector, zoning, the sale or lease price, mining titles, and petroleum rights;
• Physical and environmental issues: such as the surface area and developable area, stratigraphy, bearing capacity and topography, wetlands and bodies of water, special-status plant and wildlife species, contaminants in the soil and groundwater, and ecosystems;
• Nearby services and infrastructures: such as the power grid; the distribution networks for natural gas, drinking water, and process water; wastewater and stormwater collection systems; and road, rail, port, and airport infrastructures.

Consultation of the certification document is necessary for a full understanding of all the items of documentary evidence that need to be supplied to the BNQ because all the requirements of the program need to be met for the conformity assessment process.