THE HAGUE, Netherlands – 24 April 2020 – The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) issued a video briefing for States Parties today to present the preliminary design of the new Centre for Chemistry and Technology (ChemTech Centre). Due to the circumstances related to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the recorded briefing substituted a traditional briefing that had been planned to occur on this date at OPCW Headquarters.
During this briefing, the Secretariat delivered presentations on the status of the project as well as the layout of the functional areas in the ChemTech Centre: the OPCW Laboratory, the Equipment Store, training and capacity-building facilities, and common areas. The architectural design firm selected to lead the project’s design team, Ector Hoogstad Architecten, presented a general overview of the preliminary design and the applicable zoning and regulatory requirements.
In his opening statement, OPCW Director-General, H.E. Mr Fernando Arias remarked: “The ChemTech Centre will be a place where the Technical Secretariat and States Parties come together to study, learn, train, and work in common purpose toward a more safe, secure, peaceful, and prosperous world. The Secretariat is committed to delivering this facility for States Parties, and to making every effort to do so on-time and on-budget.”
The ChemTech Centre will be built in the Heron Business Park, an industrial park established by the municipality of Pijnacker-Nootdorp, Netherlands. The main focus of the project’s activities in 2020 are design development and the issuance of the construction tender. Construction of the building is currently planned to begin in the second quarter of 2021, and to be completed by the end of 2022.
Preliminary design rendering of the OPCW ChemTech Centre
So far, thirty-nine States Parties, the European Union, and one private individual have made financial contributions or pledges totalling €30.3 million to the project’s trust fund. A further €3.2 million is still required to reach full funding for the project. Contributions or pledges for the remaining funds are required by July 2020 to ensure that the construction tender can be issued on-time and with full funding available.
