A long-idle pulp and paper site in Saskatchewan may finally be entering a new chapter.

After nearly two decades of vacancy, the former Prince Albert Pulp and Paper Mill is being positioned for industrial redevelopment, with a compressed natural gas (CNG) facility emerging as one of the first potential anchor projects on the property.

The site, which ceased pulp mill operations in 2006, was acquired by redevelopment company BMI Group in the fall of 2025. The company is now working to bring new industrial activity back to the 2,330-acre property through a series of partnerships.

The latest step is a Memorandum of Understanding with Plum Gas, which intends to establish a compressed natural gas operation at the site.

From Abandoned Mill to Multi-Use Industrial Platform

For years, the Prince Albert mill site stood as a familiar example of what happens when a major pulp and paper asset loses its operating purpose but retains its core infrastructure.

That is beginning to change.

According to BMI Group, the property offers several assets that make redevelopment realistic rather than speculative:

• more than 900,000 square feet of industrial building space
• direct rail access
• up to 130 megawatts of power
• existing gas pipeline infrastructure

Those fundamentals are critical.

In heavy industry, redevelopment rarely starts with a concept alone. It starts with whether a site already has the utilities, transport links, and industrial footprint needed to support new activity without forcing investors into a full greenfield build.

That is where Prince Albert appears to have a real advantage.

Why a CNG Facility Makes Sense at This Site

The proposed compressed natural gas project is not a random fit.

Chris Rickett, Head of Government and Community Relations for BMI Group, pointed directly to the site’s existing natural gas access as a practical reason for the plan moving forward.

In simple terms, the logic is infrastructure-led:

👉 gas supply is already present
👉 the site is industrially zoned and serviced
👉 nearby mining and industrial users could become demand sources

That matters because CNG projects depend heavily on location economics. Without reliable pipeline connectivity and nearby industrial customers, the business case becomes much weaker.

At Prince Albert, BMI is clearly trying to leverage what the former mill site already has instead of forcing a completely unrelated use onto the property.

A Broader Industrial Strategy Beyond Energy

The CNG facility may be the first visible step, but it is not the only direction under consideration.

BMI says the site could also support companies involved in:

• critical minerals
• defense-related manufacturing
• pulp production
• broader industrial processing

That signals a wider redevelopment strategy:

👉 not a single-project conversion
👉 but a multi-tenant industrial platform

This is an important distinction.

Former pulp and paper sites are often difficult to restart as pure paper assets. Market conditions, capital requirements, and technology gaps make full mill revival challenging. But the land, power, buildings, and transport access can still make these sites highly valuable for new industrial use.

That appears to be the model BMI is pursuing here.

Timeline: Early Stage, but Not Just Conceptual

The project remains in an early development phase, but BMI has indicated that it expects Plum Gas could be online within 12 to 18 months.

That timeline suggests the company sees the site as commercially actionable, not just a long-term land banking exercise.

Of course, early-stage industrial projects still depend on:

• partner alignment
• permitting
• technical design
• capital commitment
• final market demand

So the CNG plan should still be viewed as a developing project rather than a completed investment.

Still, after 20 years of limited progress at the site, even an early operating timetable represents a meaningful shift.

What This Means for Prince Albert

For Prince Albert and the surrounding region, the potential redevelopment matters for more than symbolic reasons.

A site of this size can function as an economic anchor if it succeeds in attracting sustained industrial activity.

Possible benefits include:

• new direct jobs
• contractor and service demand
• lower energy costs for regional industrial users
• stronger infrastructure utilization
• renewed confidence in local manufacturing investment

Rickett has framed the site’s future in exactly those terms—less as a single facility and more as a base for broader industrial reactivation.

A Familiar Trend in the Forest Products Industry

The Prince Albert case also reflects a wider pattern across North America:

former pulp and paper mill sites are increasingly being repositioned as industrial redevelopment hubs rather than simply written off as legacy assets.

That shift is happening because many of these sites still offer what modern industry needs most:

• large industrial land footprints
• heavy utility access
• transport connectivity
• existing buildings with conversion potential

In many cases, the old mill may be gone—but the industrial logic of the site remains.

Final Thought

The former Prince Albert Pulp and Paper Mill is not returning in its old form.

But that does not mean the site has lost its industrial future.

With a proposed CNG facility, strong existing infrastructure, and a search for additional partners, BMI Group is trying to turn a long-vacant pulp mill property into a new industrial platform for energy, manufacturing, and regional development.

For Prince Albert, the real story is not nostalgia for a closed mill.

It is whether a legacy paper site can be successfully transformed into something economically relevant again.

Last Updated on 11/04/2026 by Jota Machinery