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Local mills hoping to build in China

John Rustad, local Liberal MLA, was meeting with Conifex and School District 91 last week to discuss a potential agreement with China.

John Rustad, local Liberal MLA, was meeting with Conifex and School District 91 last week to discuss a potential agreement with China.

School District 91 and a developer in China have been in talks to look at a partnership between the two in building a school within a new development “neighbourhood” of about a million people outside Beijing.

The school district also wanted to include local mills in the process, and the talk, according to Rustad, is to look at the possibility of a long-term lumber agreement to supply the project with wood.

Rustad says the agreement would have to include multiple mills within the area in order to provide the eight to ten years of lumber the development would require.

“There’s a lot of wood that’s going to go into these housing starts for a million people,” said Rustad.

While only preliminary at this point, Rustad says the goal is to go over to China in mid-April to sign an agreement for the school and to hopefully have representatives from the mills there as well.

“Hats off to the school district for taking the initiative and doing this,” said Rustad, who also says he is trying to support what they are doing and will be talking to the new minister who will be responsible for forests, Minister Thomson.