BARC's second campus to come up at Atchyutapuram

Acquisition of 1,000 acres of land for Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)'s second campus at Atchyutapuram near here, for building a township will be completed in a couple of months, Scientific Officer G and in-charge of Engineering Services Division of BARC here, M. Venkataratnam said on Wednesday.

An area of 4,000 acres which will be the main site is with the BARC after the APIIC acquired it and handed it over, while the rest of land -- 600 acres belonged to the government and the remaining 400 acres was with private persons. Negotiations were on with the private persons and the process was expected to be completed in a couple of months, said Mr. Venkataratnam, who was here to participate in a seminar on peaceful applications of atomic energy being organised at GITAM University.

Construction of the BARC facility, which will be three times the size of the one at Trombay, near Mumbai, would be taken up in phases and the first phase was estimated at Rs. 550 crores.

The budget would be allotted for each phase as the work progressed.

The entire facility would be ready in all respects in 30 years.

The BARC facility here is functioning from a rented accommodation in the Autonagar here and an electromagnetic system was commissioned during July 2009 by the then Director of BARC Sreekumar Banerjee. The second campus is being established here as the Trombay facility has reached saturation point and also the government is keen on takinge BARC to the east coast in a bid to spread research all over the country and probably a strategic reason is also involved.

The campus here will focus on energy research in its totality and also the strategic needs of the country, he had said then.