Beijing
Room 1507, Kuntai
International Mansion,
No.12 B Chaowai Street,
Beijing 100020
Tel: 86-10-59251256
Fax: 86-10-59251259
 
FII China Email: info@bcfii.cn

In June 2008, British Columbia (BC) Premier Gordon Campbell and the Honourable Gary Lunn, then Canadian Minister of Natural Resources, announced a CDN $8 million project to provide wood- frame buildings to help survivors of China's May 12 Wenchuan earthquake.

The project is a collaborative effort between the Government of Canada and the Government of British Columbia.  BC is providing CDN $5 million and the Government of Canada is contributing CDN $3 million. It involves constructing permanent wood-frame public facilities, including school, senior care facility, and disabled school. Made from 100% Canadian structural lumber and using modern wood frame construction technology, all the structures will be designed and assembled locally in China.

The reconstruction project is being managed by Forestry Innovation Investment, a B.C. government agency that promotes B.C. wood products and technology internationally. Partners include Canadian government officials with the department of natural resources (Canada Wood Export Program) and the department of foreign affairs and international trade (embassy staff in China), and the Canada Wood Group representing Canadian forest companies operating in China.

Research has shown that wood-frame buildings are a highly suitable construction choice for earthquake- prone regions because of their adaptability and seismic stability. Subsequently, BC's representative organization FII China is woking with Chinese government officials and local design and construction experts to implement the project, providing on-the-ground expertise and technical construction training, in order to ensure that the housing units meet local needs. 

After rounds of discussions with various levels of National, Provincial, and Municipal Chinese reconstruction authorities, the project implementation team led by FII China recommended a list of projects to the project oversight committee in Canada. Three projects have received approval from the committee:

1. Dujiangyan Xiang'e Primary School
2. Mianyang Special Education School for the Disabled
3. Beichuan Leigu Town Central Elderly Care Centre

The wood frame construction of the Xiang'e School in Dujiangyan has been completed in August 2009. The construction of the Mianyang Special Education School for the Disabled has started in November 2009. The construction of Beichuan County Leigu Town Elderly Care Centre is scheduled to start late Spring 2010.

http://www.multimedia.gov.bc.ca/EN/helping_china,_promoting_b.c._wood