June 3, 2008

Quebec looks to boost lumber use in construction

QUEBEC

The Quebec government will invest $16 million during the next six years to boost the amount of lumber used in construction, Natural Resouces Minister Claude Bechard says.

Bechard said the government is hoping to develop expertise in the industry that will help wood compete with steel and concrete.

“What we announced ...will roughly triple the [amount] of wood that we now use in construction in Quebec,” Bechard said at a centre for the development of wood products.

The government’s goal is to increase the use of wood in construction to about 360 million board feet by 2014, which is equivalent to the production of two average-size sawmills, Bechard said.

Increased wood use in buildings would also cut the annual production of greenhouse gases by 600,000 tonnes, he noted.

He said that the cost of using wood in the construction of buildings is equivalent to that of steel and concrete.

Bechard explained that the use of lumber in construction projects appears lower now because builders lack resources, such as engineering software, designed for this material although it abounds for the others.

He said that with last week’s announcement, architects and engineers will find it easier in two or three years to construct a building using wood.

Quebec will not put a minimum threshold on wood use in the construction of public buildings but Bechard said it will emphasize in all government projects and bids that the use of wood can be five per cent higher than other components.

Additional points will be awarded for the use of wood in projects such as two Montreal superhospitals and the new Montreal Symphony Orchestra concert hall.

Bechard said that with the expertise now available, minimum thresholds for wood use cannot be imposed but a review in a couple of years could determine if that is possible.

He noted that France has a 25-per-cent minimum threshold.

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