France opens a new chapter as ITER's Host
11 Jun 2010
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Alexandra Maraval, Agence ITER France
As part of its commitments in hosting the ITER Project, France has carried out the clearing and the levelling of the construction site, the establishment of the International School in Manosque, and the construction of an itinerary for the transport of heavy components from the port of Fos-sur-Mer to Cadarache. France, as Host country, is now ready to enter a new phase of site preparation work—the construction of the permanent ITER Headquarters; the reinforcement of the 400 kV electricity line; the building of the electricity grid and transport station on the ITER site; and the cooling water network.
Work on Headquarters will start this summer, and will involve approximately 200 people over two years of construction. Reinforcement work on the 400kV electricity line will take one year, beginning mid-2011. Connected to the Tavel/Boutre network, this line, now reserved for the French Tore Supra tokamak, will be doubled and connected to the electricity grid and transport station located on the ITER platform. Work on the transport station will be carried out between mid-2010 and mid-2011. The cooling water network for the ITER installation will be finished by end 2012.