PANAJI: India will formally inform the governing authority of Antarctica it's intent to develop a new research base in the icy continent as a replacement for the existing research station - Maitri. The
National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research
(
NCPOR
) expects the new research base to be ready around 2030.
Once the
new research station
is completed, the Maitri, which was built in Jan 1989, will be turned into a heritage monument.
All this will be formally conveyed to the governing body of Antarctica during the 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (
ATCM
), which India is hosting from May 20, in Kochi, Kerala.
"We will be informing the treaty parties that we are planning to enhance our facilities, by which we mean redeveloping. We are only informing them that we intend to redevelop the existing station and plan to build a new station," said NCPOR director Thamban Meloth.
He said it would be premature for a formal statement to be made to the governing body since govt process itself has yet to start.
"We are now going to call for the design competition for the station. Once we get the design, then a comprehensive environment impact assessment will have to be conducted. The budgeting has to begin. All this will take some time and 2030 is the earliest that we can expect the station," said Meloth.
The Maitri research station, also known as the Friendship Research Centre was built in 1988 on an ice-free, rocky area to serve as a gateway to one of the largest mountain chains in Antarctica's central Dronning Maud region. It is about 100km from the shore and can support 40 persons during summers and 25 scientists during winters.
The site for the new station, which will have better and modern
research facilities
, has already been identified. Development of the master plan for the new station, hiring of a consultant and designing of the research station is expected to take 18 months once Centre signs off on the project.
Once this is completed, the next step will be selection of the contractor to execute the project.
NCPOR, based in Vasco, operates the two Antarctica stations Maitri and Bharati in the southern continent. Dakshin Gangotri was India's first science station established in Antarctica. It was set up in 1983-84 and abandoned in 1988-1989 after it was submerged in ice.
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