DHS Awards Contract for Utilities Plant at NBAF [Edited]

February 25, 2013 — 

The federal government has awarded a $40 million contract for building a utility plant at the site of a $1.15 billion animal research lab in northeast Kansas, a move that Kansas officials said is reassurance that plans for the lab are moving forward. (WSJ)

The Department of Homeland Security gave out the contract for the 87,000-square-foot plant Thursday, DHS spokeswoman Nicole Stickel said. The National Bio and Agro-Defense facility in Manhattan, Kan., is designed to replace an animal research lab at Plum Island, N.Y., and will focus on researching deadly animal diseases that affect livestock.

State officials have long promoted northeast Kansas as a potential site for the lab, seeing it as crucial to efforts to create a strong biosciences industry and create more than 300 well-paying jobs. The state has said it's committed to issuing up to $105 million in bonds to help with the project.

Funding for the National Bio- and Agro-defense Facility, however, has slowed in recent years because of tight federal funding sources and ongoing reviews of the laboratory's size, scope and risk.

DHS said the utility plant, which will be next to the main lab, will house NBAF's heating and cooling systems and emergency power supply. The contract for building the utility plant went to a company that provided site preparation services for the project. Construction is expected to take more than two years.

Source: Wall Street Journal, February 22, 2013