The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) is setting up a national biocontainment facility soon. The government of Andhra Pradesh has agreed to provide 5 acres of land for the project adjacent to the upcoming office complex of the multinational corporation, GE, at Uppal. According to Dr Lalji Singh, Director, CCMB, the project would cost Rs 50 crore and the initial funding would come from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the parent body of the Centre.

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu visited the Centre on the eve of CCMB's silver jubilee in November and had promised to give land close to its present premises for its expansion. Dr Lalji Singh said besides the land huge funding was necessary for the Biological Safety Lab, which would be named CCMB Annexe-2. The idea for setting up such a facility was originated following the threats of Anthrax attacks in the US subsequent to the September 11 attack on the World Trade Centre in New York.

However, the project could not take off so far, as efforts by the CCMB to acquire land close to its campus and belonging to Osmania University did not make headway. Though the Chief Minister had asked the university authorities to allot some land to CCMB, it did not move in the matter as it had already parted with land for the IICT, NGRI and CCMB itself earlier.

With CCMB already establishing expertise in the handling and research of various biological material and planning to undertake intensive genetic studies of infectious doiseases like AIDS, Hepatitis, Leishmaniasis, the biosafety lab would be very useful. In recent times, the Dept of Science and Technology (DST) funded a national facility to generate new transgenic and knock-out mice models to understand gene functions.

CCMB has also been given the responsibility to establish the laboratory for conservation of endangered species Lacones). The state government has given 7 acres of land adjacent to the Nehru Zoological Park for the purpose. The infrastructure for that lab, to be named CCMB Annexe-1, with funding from the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Dept of Biotechnology (DBT), is expected to be created in the next couple of years. The Biological Safety Level 4 (BSL4) lab that was being set up will be a boon to its future research effort in fulfilling the programme of activity contemplated by CCMB.