Proposed $200m timber hub promises jobs and building materials boost
- A new forestry hub has been announced for south-west Victoria to support the timber industry’s transition following the end of native forest logging.
- The initiative includes government funding aimed at improving processing capacity, supporting jobs, and strengthening supply chains based on plantation timber.
- Industry leaders say the hub will help maintain regional economic activity, though challenges remain in adapting to new timber sources and market conditions.
A $200 million manufacturing hub is expected to provide a new locally made timber product for the Australian construction industry, helping fill a gap left by the end of native timber logging.
The proposed Future Portland Hardwood Timber Manufacturing Hub would span about 35 hectares in the heart of timber plantation country near Portland, about four hours west of Melbourne.
The Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub had led a feasibility study on the project, which it said confirmed viability of turning locally-grown blue gum, currently exported as wood chips, into a range of building materials on-site in the state’s west.
The organisation said this included glue-laminated timber which was as strong as steel or concrete and was widely used in building construction.
Documents said the proposed plant could replace half of the glue-laminated timber currently imported each year, valued at about $70 million dollars, and it would help address a mismatch between supply and demand for timber in Australia.
“Large volumes of plantation hardwood are exported with minimal processing, while imports of high value engineered timber products continue to rise,” the feasibility study said.
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Original article and photo by "ABC News"
