Bulletin

Issue: May 2004

News

New building for Albury-Wodonga campus

The Victorian Treasurer and Minister for State and Regional Development, Mr John Brumby, recently turned the first sod to mark the start of a new building on the La Trobe University Albury-Wodonga campus.

The Centre for Research and Training in Environmental Sciences is scheduled for completion early in 2005. The new building will house The Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre (MDFRC) as well as specialised University facilities.

MDFRC will occupy 90 per cent of the single storey building and the remainder will consist of teaching laboratories for La Trobe students studying courses within the Department of Environmental Management and Ecology.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Osborne, said the co-location of MDFRC with the University will offer outstanding research opportunities and enhance the unique educational programs of the Department of Environmental Management.

'La Trobe, CSIRO and the MDFRC already have a strong relationship through collaborative research projects and the development of a joint research facility at La Trobe University's Mildura campus,' Professor Osborne said.

Professor John Langford, Chairman of the MDFRC Board of Management, said the collaboration between the University and researchers at MDFRC will draw together expertise from both organisations to facilitate important research in the Murray-Darling Basin.

'Both organisations are grateful for the contribution of $1.5 million towards the project from the Victorian Government Regional Infrastructure Development Fund, administered by Minister Brumby, $1 million from the Federal Government through the Minister for Environment and Heritage and $450,000 from CSIRO,' Professor Langford said.

The Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre is an unincorporated joint venture between the Murray-Darling Basin Commission and CSIRO Land and Water, with support from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

The 1350 square metre brick building will be constructed by Zauner Construc-tion of Albury. The architects are Woods Bagot Pty Ltd of Melbourne.

The new building is the second major construction project on the campus in two years. The David Mann Library was opened in 2002 and won the Royal Australian Institute of Architects' Regional Prize. The architects were also Woods Bagot.

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