diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/HttpKernel/Kernel.php b/src/Symfony/Component/HttpKernel/Kernel.php
index 8d4953886e3a0..f9c488d886009 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/HttpKernel/Kernel.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/HttpKernel/Kernel.php
@@ -58,8 +58,7 @@ abstract class Kernel implements KernelInterface, TerminableInterface
     protected $name;
     protected $startTime;
     protected $loadClassCache;
-
-    private $projectDir;
+    protected $projectDir;
 
     const VERSION = '3.3.0-DEV';
     const VERSION_ID = 30300;