Established in 1977, the Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station has been dubbed Poland’s informal embassy in Antarctica, yet over the years, sea waters have encroached to within a metre of its main building, PAP noted.
And so in 2018, the country's Science Ministry allocated PLN 88 million (EUR 19 million) to modernise the station and build a new headquarters.
Dr Dariusz Puczko from the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), who oversees the revamp, told PAP that some 1,200 tonnes of material have already arrived on site.
This includes heavy machinery as well as the new building’s prefabricated foundations and its steel framework, the news agency noted.
“We used a pontoon bridge and amphibious vehicles to transport these onto land,” Dr Puczko explained.
Some 20 staff from private firms and PAN’s Institute of Biophysics and Biochemistry are engaged in the project, while scientists continue their research in the old building, PAP reported.
Despite delays brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the foundations will be installed this year and the station’s new headquarters could be ready by 2024.
“I am optimistic that we can complete the new building by that date,” dr Puczko told PAP.
(pm)
Source: PAP