Strategic project for the Denys group! (2009)
2009-03-09
On March 4 the Flemish Minister of the Economy, Business, Science, Innovation and Foreign Trade, Patricia Ceysens and Mr Daniel Termont, Mayor of Ghent, were guests at the official laying of the first stone of the Bio-Accelerator, the business service centre for fast-growing biotech and life science companies. This new, state-of-the-art service centre in the Ardoyen Science Park in Zwijnaarde (Ghent) is a project run by DG Infra +, BSI nv (Ipes Group) and Foremost Immo nv (Denys Group), who are thus contributing to the further development of Flanders as a centre of excellence in life sciences and biotechnology. Commissioning is planned for summer 2010.
At the end of 2007 DG Infra+ began to study this new business service centre in Ghent. This centre will meet the growing demand from life science and biotech companies for specific, high-quality services and infrastructure, located in the heart of the Belgian biotech cluster.
The “Bio-Accelerator” service centre has been designed and developed with the support of Ghent University and VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology). It was to Ghent University that Bio-Versneller NV, the owner-operator of the Bio-Accelerator, granted a long lease on a plot of land in the Ardoyen Science Park in Zwijnaarde (Ghent). The Bio-Accelerator is complementary to the two existing VIB bio-incubators at the same science park, which mainly houses start-ups and spin-offs.
At the end of 2008 preparations began for the construction of this new building, comprising 10,000 m² of laboratory space, spread over five floors and divided in a modular manner. These research laboratories will meet the stringent requirements of the industry and should enable users to attract highly qualified scientists from around the world. Moreover, the business centre is near the E17/E40 motorway junction and is easily accessible by public transport. The goal is that by summer 2010 around 300 people will be using the Bio-Accelerator. Within the cluster of biotech and life science companies in the Technology Park in Zwijnaarde users can exchange expertise and logistical support with other companies in the industry. In this way they create a strong network of partners in their immediate vicinity.
The Bio-Accelerator is designed by the architecture and engineering company Sum Project and built by the consortium of construction companies Denys and Ipes.
The initiators of this project are pleased to welcome the Ghent biotechnology company Ablynx NV as the first user of the service centre.
(Source: DG Infra +)