The Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO) will have a fourth locator that will invest around P1.2 billion by leasing 5,000 hectares of land for bamboo planting.

The Kapwa Agroforestry Corporation (Kapwa) intend to develop the 5,000 hectares into bamboo plantation tapping together the local community to showcase the Filipino world-class bamboos.

At the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) late Wednesday (27 March) at the BGC Seda Hotel, both APECO and Kapwa agreed that bamboo will soon emerged as the most sought construction material, replacing other variety of wood that will become scarce.

Pax Doromal, Kapwa's President and Chief Executive Officer, said their partner, the Rizome Philippine is the leading manufacturer of eco-friendly bamboo building materials in the Philippines.

"Bamboo will soon be a replacement for wood, as a building material," Doromal told DAILY TRIBUNE, pointing that 'Rizome PH.' is already exporting their bamboo products from their manufacturing plant in Cagayan de Oro.

Doromal also hinted that talks with local airport and hotel makers are also in the offing, for them to supply bamboo construction materials.

APECO President and CEO Atty. Gil G. Taway on the other hand said, that their newest collaboration will harness the unique qualities of bamboo to create a wide-range of products even as structural and construction materials.

"APECO as an economic zone, is leading by example - to show the nation what is possible when we prioritize sustainability and cooperation over short-term gains. This collaboration exemplifies our dedication to fostering public-private partnership that drive positive change for the Filipino people," Taway said.

To date, Doromal said Kapwa is also at the stage of validating the APECO's data on its existing bamboo and a feasibility study is also undertaken in terms of economic and manpower value.

Doromal mentioned that Kapwa is validating APECO's bamboo data and conducting a feasibility study on economic and manpower value. The Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) will follow once due diligence and the feasibility study are completed.

The local communities including tribes of Indigenous People in Aurora will be hired as planters and maintainers of their bamboo plants.

Kapwa, according to Doromal, would need $4,800 per hectares to maintain the five year stage of 'giant bamboo' variety that they intend to produce from APECO's 5,000 hectares. Funding for this he said will come from 'carbon financing' from international lending firms.