June 21, 2001 For Immediate Release

Wayne Watson Construction of Prince George has been awarded the contract to build the Laboratory expansion and the Bentley Science Centre at the University of Northern British Columbia's Prince George campus. The total cost is $15.8 million and includes the building construction, permanent fixtures such as cabinets and chalkboards, a fibre-optic communications backbone, and landscaping.

Construction is expected to be underway within a week. Substantial completion of the facility is expected by the late summer of 2002.

The new Lab building is just over 6,000 square metres and will include teaching labs, an expanded GIS lab for advancing technologies in satellite mapping, offices for science faculty, a chemical storage area, and instructional areas. The existing lab building will also be renovated to provide more space for scientific research.

Close to 50% of UNBC's students are enrolled in science programs - about double the national average. In addition, among small universities, UNBC has been one of the most successful in attracting national and provincial funding for innovative research.

Tenders for the acquisition of some of the scientific equipment and furnishings will be issued over the course of the next several months. All of the active tenders are posted on www.unbc.ca/purchasing.