A PROPOSED bamboo plantation and processing plant in Mindanao may cost nearly a billion pesos, a proponent of the project told the BusinessMirror in a recent interview.
Targeting to initially plant bamboo on 5,000 hectares of land in Lanao del Norte and construct the processing plant in General Santos City or Cagayan de Oro, the project may require P800 million, University of the Philippines ecology consultant Ponciano Aberin said.
A local bamboo-processing industry, however, has a bright future, especially today that cutting less wood trees has been seen to save the environment, he noted.
“When properly processed it can be as hard as wood, fire-resistant, termite-resistant, environment-friendly and even cheaper than wood,” Aberin said.
Processed bamboo has a big potential as a high-rise building construction material, he said. It can be used as wall panels and floor tiles. Furniture and handicrafts can also be made using it.
The Philippines and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are the sure market of locally grown and processed bamboo, Aberin added.
According to Aberin, the massive production to meet the demand of bamboo processing needs importation of top-quality variety of bamboo seeds.
“The few native varieties cannot meet the volume of seeds required in extensive planting.”
He explained these seeds may be imported largely from China, where farmers make a living growing them in the past years.
He and other proponents of the project are “now talking with a group in Mindanao” to see the project to fruition.
Aberin said they have had initial consultations with an American group based in Hong Kong who has the technology on bamboo processing.
The processing plant should be practically located near the source of raw material, he noted.
Aberin pointed out that the project is going through tough time meeting government requirements.
“It needs sitting down with the Department of Public Works and Highways and with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources,” he said. A model of the project is being asked.
According to him, bamboo is better fit in the country. It can be harvested from the age of three to five years, relatively a short growing period. Wood takes several decades to mature.
Processed bamboo as construction and furniture material would generate employment for local workforce and revenues for the government, he added.
It would also help address or at least reduce incidence of illegal logging in country, he explained.
The government may help the proponents find an investor who would construct the processing plant and acquire the technology or help the group get a “soft loan” from a local lender, Aberin said.
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s transition to Bangsamoro Autonomous Region may encourage investors.
An extensive bamboo production and processing in Mindanao may contribute in addressing the long-standing armed conflict in the south.
Aberin said he and his group are also identifying locations in Luzon to grow bamboos.
Oliver Samson / Correspondent
Image credits: S&T Media Service