MPI Laboratory

Fletcher Construction, Naylor Love and a joint venture involving Leighs Construction of Christchurch and Cockram Construction of Australia, have been short- listed, said Ministry for Primary Industries project manager Mike Hannaway.

Demolition, site works and relocation of one of the two old labs at the National Centre for Biosecurity and Infectious Diseases was set to start in the next six weeks and the preferred contractor should be named in November.

Work on the main part of the Wallaceville project was expected to start in March next year and be completed in early 2018, said Hannaway.

The building contract is expected to account for more than half the all-up $65m project cost, which includes consultants' fees and the purchase of new specialised equipment such as autoclaves and bio-safety cabinets.

The biocontainment laboratory, designed to deal with large-scale animal disease emergencies such as foot and mouth, will replace two older labs and will be built to the highest international standards.

Canadian-based Merrick Consultancy are principle consultants. The building was designed by John Rogers of CCM Architects, Adam Thornton of Dunning Thorton is the structural engineer and Beca are services engineers.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy, who announced the project this week, described the laboratory as an insurance policy to protect New Zealand's economy. "Primary industries form the backbone of New Zealand's economy, with more than $20 billion of exports coming from animal products. A major disease outbreak could halt trade, which could only be resumed through extensive laboratory testing."

Such disease threats included anthrax, foot and mouth disease, brucella and avian influenza, he said.

Wallaceville had been home to New Zealand's animal disease diagnostics for a century, and was the site of the first veterinarian lab in the southern hemisphere.