<b>Abitibi Building New Deinking Plant</B>

Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. will invest $50 million over the next eighteen months at its Thorold, Ontario mill to build a new deinking plant. The Thorold mill will then become the second and the largest newsprint mill in Canada to produce from 100% recycled fiber.

"This investment will not only simplify Thorold's pulping process, but will also reduce production costs and enhance the quality of the mill's newsprint", said Denis Jean, senior vice president, Northern Newsprint Operations. "With 100% recycled newsprint in their supplier mix, our customers will be better able to meet minimum recycled content requirements in various markets," added Mr. Jean.

The costs of the project are included in the company's previously announced stringent capital expenditure program. Construction of the new deinking plant is scheduled to begin this spring and be operational next summer. The mill has a production capacity of over 400,000 metric tons of newsprint annually.