Metro has hoped a new 600,000-square-foot automated distribution centre in the Greater Montreal Area.

The grocery and pharmacy retailer said the fresh and frozen products facility in Terrebonne, Que., is the result of a nearly $1-billion investment program aimed at modernizing the company’s distribution network in Quebec and Ontario. The facility stands nine storeys high and equals about 10 football fields in length.

Montreal-based Metro said the new centre’s inauguration represents a significant milestone for the company. The opening also reaffirms the prominent economic role that the company plays in Quebec, especially through the investment of more than $420 million in its Quebec distribution network and provision of thousands of jobs across the province, Metro added.

“Our new automated distribution centre in Terrebonne represents the future of Metro’s fresh and frozen product distribution in Quebec,” said Eric La Flèche, the company’s president and CEO, in a news release. “It will strengthen our market position, generate new opportunities for our company and employees, and enable us to remain competitive while pursuing our growth.”