Red letter day for synchrotron project

Calling today a "red letter day" for the Australian National Synchrotron project, Victorian Minister for Innovation, John Brumby, announced that Australian construction company Thiess was the successful tenderer to design and construct the building to house the 67 metre diameter machine, 30 plus beamlines, and associated laboratories, offices and technical facilities.

Brumby called the selection of Thiess a major milestone for the project. Construction work is expected to begin on the site shortly, with an expected completion date for the $39.4 million building of December 2004. The Synchrotron is expected to be open for business in 2007.

The at-times controversial project has been in the planning since mid-2001, when the Victorian government, led by Premier Steve Bracks, gazumped other state bidders for Major National Research Facility funding by announcing that the state would go ahead and build the facility. The State is contributing $157.2 million for the building and the machine.

Another $40 million required to fund the beamlines is expected to come from other sources including other state governments, industry, and universities.

So far, the University of Melbourne has agreed to fund one or more beamlines, and Melbourne-based high-tech micro- and nano-machining facility MiniFAB will contribute up to $600,000 to build a laboratory. New Zealand has also expressed interest in supporting the project.

"Contracts are usually not drawn up for beamlines until the building is completed -- the University of Melbourne and MiniFAB have signed up two years ahead of schedule," said Brumby.

He noted that given the situation overseas, with many synchrotrons oversubscribed, Australia's machine would be likely to follow suit. Nine to twelve beamlines are expected to be installed initially with a capacity for more than 30.

Brumby said that while the Commonwealth government had been supportive of the project, it was still an issue whether they would assist with funding the beamlines through research agencies including the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Research Council and the CSIRO.

"It would be unthinkable for the Commonwealth government not to contribute in some way to the National Synchrotron," he said.

Sir Gus Nossal, the patron of the project, said that while the commonwealth government had not yet budgeted for support of the Synchrotron, he would be very surprised if they did not end up providing support for beamlines.

According to Brumby, the contract to build the injector system at the heart of the synchrotron will be announced later this year. Six companies have been shortlisted to supply key components for the injector system.

A recent Industry Day held at the site attracted more than 300 Australian and international participants interested in the opportunities offered by the project.