Construction and Finance
Diamond was built at Chilton near Didcot in Oxfordshire, UK, on the site of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). It produced its first user beam towards the end of January 2007, and was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 19 October 2007.
The facility is operated by Diamond Light Source Ltd, a joint venture company established in March 2002. The company receives 86% of its funding from the UK Government (via the STFC) and 14% from the Wellcome Trust. Diamond cost £260m to build which covered the cost of the synchrotron building, the accelerators inside it, the first seven experimental stations (beamlines) and the adjacent office block, Diamond House. Costain Ltd constructed the building and the synchrotron hall. Significant construction achievements to note:
i) The project was completed on time and on budget;
ii) The construction of Diamond was completed with one of the lowest accident rates of a mega project completed in the UK. Over 1.3 million manhours were completed during the peak of construction without a single accident.
Read more about this topic: Diamond Light Source
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