The kick-off meeting for the CIIMAR Blue Biobank construction project took place on 16 January at the PortoCruise Terminal building, within the scope of the Hub Azul Leixões. The meeting brought together representatives from CIIMAR, APDL – Administração dos Portos do Douro, Leixões e Viana do Castelo, the office of architect Luís Pedro Silva, responsible for the project design, and Araújo & Brandão – Construções, Lda., the contracted construction company.
This meeting marked the first step towards the implementation of the project and concluded with the signing of the Site Handover Certificate between CIIMAR and the contractor, formally confirming the award and initiating the execution phase of the works.
The CIIMAR Blue Biobank will include a laboratory area dedicated to mapping and managing access to a wide range of marine resources, ensuring controlled use and distribution for scientific and commercial purposes, as well as an exhibition area that will be open to the public.
The CIIMAR Blue Biobank is a marine biodiversity repository dedicated to the preservation, study, and valorisation of the biotechnological potential of marine resources. Its installation at the Leixões Blue Hub will strengthen the positioning of this infrastructure within the national Blue Bioeconomy and Blue Biotechnology ecosystem, as a hub dedicated to the development and testing of ocean technologies in support of the blue economy.
