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Mass timber funding for B.C. university projects

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 07 Apr, 2022 04:06 PM

VICTORIA - British Columbia is helping build four housing and infrastructure projects using mass timber, including a new building at the University of Victoria.

Ravi Kahlon, minister of jobs, economic recovery and innovation, says the university is among those to get $1.2 million in funding that will be used to help build a 783-bed housing and dining facility set to open in September.

Our plan is about clean growth and building a stronger BC for everyone. We can be a global leader in using made-in-BC products to build faster, with a lower carbon footprint, while providing new jobs and skills training.https://t.co/L6ttUapR76
— John Horgan (@jjhorgan) April 7, 2022

The university also has two other mass timber projects in the works including an engineering and computer science building and a centre for Indigenous laws.

Plans for the province's mass timber demonstration program include four new projects, which range from multi-unit homes to mixed-use commercial and industrial buildings.

Kahlon told a news conference on Thursday that large-diameter trees are not needed to make mass timber.

Instead, the building material can be made by piecing together smaller pieces of wood with glue and nails.

He says mass timber can match or exceed the strength of concrete and steel while reducing carbon emissions by up to 45 per cent.

The minister says B.C. could have as many as 10 new mass timber manufacturers by 2035, which could fill an anticipated 4,400 jobs in manufacturing, construction and design.

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