Site preparation progressing at great pace
Works are progressing on the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ site at full speed with the close collaboration of °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ's Civil Construction and Site Support Office, Agence °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ France and the European Domestic Agency. These three parties who are collectively responsible for the specification, design and delivery of the basic site infrastructure, meet on a monthly basis to ensure that the works continue to progress in accordance with the required schedules.
Currently the major and most impressive activity is the site leveling which will provide the 80 hectare level platform on which most of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ facility will be built. Over 700,000 cubic metres of rock has been removed by blasting and it is expected that the remaining 1,000,000 cubic metres to be removed by blasting will be complete in early 2009. Integrated with the platform leveling work is a new campaign of site investigation that will ensure that the best possible knowledge of the rock conditions is obtained prior to the commencement of building construction. In addition, fantastic progress has been made on completing the many kilometres of access roads, drainage pipes, retention basins and other infrastructure required to support the construction of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ facility.
The JWS 2 temporary building which will house 300 °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ staff is almost complete. The completion of this building, which will be fully commissioned by the end of October 2008, is a milestone in °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ's history as it will be the first building to be occupied on the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ site and will serve as the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Headquarters until the completion of the permanent office building in 2011.
The design of the permanent Headquarters of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Organization is also progressing at great pace. The Architectural Drawings are complete and the Calls for tenders for the construction of the building will be launched in early 2009 with construction expected to commence in the second half of the year.
Acknowledgement is due to the civil engineering teams of °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ, Agence °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ France and the European Domestic Agency as well as the numerous companies who have been involved in the site preparation activities. Their hard work and dedication means that the construction of °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ is now well underway and we all look forward to the next milestone of seeing the Tokamak Excavation works commencing in 2009.