Cagayan de Oro— Bukidnon province will be the site of the first Bamboo Textile Fiber Innovation Hub (BTFIH) in the Northern Mindanao Region.
Rubie Mae Fernandez, science specialist of the Department of Science and Technology-Northern Mindanao (DOST-10), said the undertaking is in collaboration with the DOST-Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) and the Central Mindanao University (CMU).
The hub is expected to open inside the CMU campus in Maramag town this September.
“We are poised to fully operationalize the establishment of the BTFIH, aligning with current market demands. Numerous neighboring LGUs have already expressed keen interest in this initiative,” said Dr. Rolito Eballe, CMU president.
BTFIH is envisioned to boost bamboo’s economic and environmental value chain through sustainable fiber extraction and processing.
The hub will also be a venue for community engagement, empowering residents to participate in fiber processing and fostering sustainable livelihoods.
DOST will fund the BTFIH research project, which is sponsored by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development.
Meanwhile, the P1.54 billion Bukidnon Sports Complex in Malaybalay City was turned over by the Department of Public Works and Highways over the weekend.
The sports complex is the new most extensive facility in Northern Mindanao, with a 6,000-seat capacity, a world-class eight-lane rubberized track and field, and a 6,160 square meter world-class football field.
The facility also has three grandstands with a track and oval field, an aquatic center building with 10 lanes, a 50 by 25-meter Olympic-size swimming and diving pool, a 45-meter-wide entrance, and an 840 sq.m. area for multipurpose rooms.
Adjacent to the sports complex is the Bukidnon Center for Culture and the Arts, which has two buildings for the museum, with an area of 1,938 sq.m., and a two-story amphitheater with 3,690 sq.m. total area.