NIO complex to be built with green technology.

The proposed laboratory-cum-research complex of National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in the city will be a smart building built with green technology.

The building is designed based on integrated building management system. It will have intelligent features such as solar power, recycling of water, censor-driven lighting, and water consumption systems.

NIO, one of the premier labs under Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, has engaged Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited as the project monitoring consultant for the prestigious project.

The complex will have two 250-metre-long underwater seawater pipelines connected with censor packages, instruments and systems for 24x7 recording of Bay of Bengal’s water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and nitrates. It will have dedicated pipelines for intake and discharge into the sea.

Owing to a variety of reasons, the project could not be grounded as planned in 2010. Conceived with an expenditure of Rs.10 crore with buildings and various high-end instruments for research, the project cost has been revised at Rs.33 crore now by BSNL. The preliminary estimates made by BSNL have to be vetted by NIO head office in Goa and later by CSIR.

Getting clearance under Coastal Regulation Zone took five years. Later lack of approach road to two bits of land -- 3.25 acres and 0.7 acre at Yendada -- due to some constructions delayed launching of the project.

Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Y.S. Chowdary laid the foundation stone for the project on January 31.

V.S.N. Murthy, scientist in-charge of NIO Visakhapatnam Regional Centre, told The Hindu on Thursday that they were keen on launching construction work in the New Year.

“Our plan is to complete the construction of main building on the main site by September and second building on the smaller site by December, 2016,” he said.

THE HINDU