STA, 6 March 2020 - Slovenia will get a new biotechnological centre on the western outskirts of Ljubljana near the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology. The contract on the launch of the EUR 21 million project was signed on Friday.
As part of the project, which will be one of the biggest investments in biotechnology in the region, a new 6,500-square-metre research centre is to be built by 2023.
The contract on the construction of the Biotechnological Hub of the National Institute for Biology (NIB) worth almost EUR 20.8 million was signed today by Education, Science and Sports Minister Jernej Pikalo and NIB head Matjaž Kuntner.
The EU will contribute EUR 16 million, the state will chip in EUR 4 million, while the rest will be covered by the NIB.
According to Kuntner, the construction should start at the end of this or the beginning of next year.
The two-storey building with a multitude of labs, lecture rooms, conference rooms, offices, and technical and maintenance rooms will be located in Večna Pot street in the east of Ljubljana, near three other faculties.
Minister Jernej Pikalo noted that the funding of science and research was on the rise, but that Slovenia was still lagging behind in this respect and that one project would not make up for everything.
This investment is a small step towards creating better conditions for science and research, he said.
According to Kuntner, the new centre will strengthen Slovenia's excellence in science on the international level, stop brain-drain, introduce new biotechnologies and enhance ties with the business sector and tertiary education as well as various public institutes and science centres.
