The Government Delegate in Andalusia, Pedro Fernández, has announced the attendance of the Minister of Science, Diana Morant, at Citai.
Foundations of the auxiliary buildings on the accelerator plot, with the UGR-DONES building under construction in the background. (Photo: Pepe Marín)
May 19 will be a key date for the future of science and for Granada. The Government Delegate in Andalusia, Pedro Fernández, has announced that Minister of Science Diana Morant will lay the first stone of the particle accelerator complex during a ceremony to be held in Escúzar. According to Fernández, it will be a “symbolic” act, but one that will provide “complete certainty” for the project and clearly signal the beginning of construction on what he called “Spain’s largest scientific investment and one of the most significant in all of Europe.”
In remarks made at the end of his visit to the construction works on the breakwater at Playa Granada in Motril, Pedro Fernández highlighted that the project will involve an investment of €800 million, in addition to €50 million annually in maintenance costs. Croatia, a partner in the project, has committed to covering 5% of the investment.
Likewise, Pedro Fernández emphasized that the particle accelerator will create “11,000 highly skilled jobs”, representing a major opportunity to “retain Andalusian talent and attract international talent.”
In Fernández’s view, the start of construction is “extraordinary news that places Granada at the highest level in Europe, not just in Spain.” He also hinted that this momentum may serve to “propose a second accelerator.”
Finally, the Government Delegate highlighted the involvement of the University of Granada, a “centuries-old institution” that brings essential “expertise” to the project.