Kode Contracting of Prince George has been awarded an $8,000 contract to clear the site at the north end of UNBC's campus to accommodate future construction. The tree-clearing will begin in the afternoon tomorrow, March 22nd, to reduce disruptions to classes. The harvesting has been planned to minimize the impact on the trees that will remain.

Eleven companies submitted bids for the project.

The work is being done in anticipation of three new buildings that will be built on campus starting this summer: an extension to the new lab building, phase one of a research and development park, and the Northern Health Sciences Centre (NHSC). In total, the three projects will add about 100,000 square feet of space to the Prince George campus. The tender for additional site prep for the NHSC is currently open; bids will be accepted until April 3rd. The actual tender for construction of the NHSC is expected to be let by the end of April, with construction of the 40,000 square foot building set to begin in June.

The Northern Health Sciences Centre will house the Northern Medical Program, a partnership between UNBC and UBC to train physicians in the North. The first 24 students are expected to begin the NMP in 2004.

Construction of phase one of the Research and Development Park, meanwhile, is being undertaken by the AXOR Group from Montreal, UNBC's partner in the project. While AXOR will act as the general contractor, it's expected that local companies will be involved in various parts of the project. The R&D Park is a public-private partnership and will provide opportunities for public and private enterprises to locate on campus. Initially, UNBC and Victoria, BC-based Data Base File Tech will be the major tenants. Construction of the R&D Park is expected to begin within about a month.