Costa Rica to open agbiotech centre

Costa Rica is to have a “biotechnology laboratory” up and running by the middle of 2009. The national biotechnology innovations centre, the Cenibot, will open for business in June next year, the Ministry of Science expects. Among the areas for development will be the formulation of pesticides, decontamination of water courses and the “treatment and re-use of agricultural waste”. Pilot projects are under way. Cenibot director Martha Valdez says that participating scientists must belong to a relevant research company. Teams will be arriving over the coming months. The project will cost €15 million ($20.6 million), with 97.4% of the funds coming from the EU. It signed a co-operative deal in 2005 to provide investment by November this year.