NBAF Construction ''On Time, Budget'' According to Officials

February 8, 2017 — 

The construction of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility is going well and is on time, said Ron Trewyn, K-State's liaison for the federal lab under construction at the northeast edge of campus. [Source: The Mercury, By Dylan Lysen, February 5, 2017]

The $1.25 billion research facility, commonly referred to as NBAF, is tasked with studying diseases that can be spread from animals to humans to protect the country's livestock and food supply. It will replace an aging federal animal disease lab at Plum Island, New York The construction of the massive facility began in 2013 with the Central Utility Center. The center is complete but will not be used until the laboratories are finished.

The utility center was constructed first because the federal money appropriated for the project needed to be spent in a certain timeframe.

"It can operate, but it's there to serve the main lab, and that's what they are currently building," Trewyn said. "It's operational but not operating."

Martha Vanier, director of partnership development for the Department of Homeland Security's NBAF program executive office, said in a written statement the facility is on time and on budget.

Vanier said she has been meeting with the community to discuss how the construction is taking shape.

The lab is on track to be fully operational in December 2022. The research transition from the New York facility to Manhattan is expected to finish in August 2023, she said.

Vanier said about 200 workers who are currently working on the construction, but that number will grow to as many as 1,000. She said the lab will employ about 400 employees in Manhattan once it begins operating.

"These positions will include scientists, researchers, technicians, and other program and facility support staff," she said.

Many have speculated how the facility will affect the Manhattan community, with past reports suggesting the facility will provide a $3.5 billion economic impact in its first 20 years, but Vanier said she couldn't predict its full effect.

During a panel discussion on bio- and agro-defense issues at K-State last week, former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle said Manhattan is becoming the "Silicon Valley of bio-defense" with the construction of the federal building paired with K-State's existing research facilities, including the Bio Research Institute at Pat Roberts Hall.

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