The UK Government’s agricultural research body has contracted John Sisk to build their new £17m (€21) research lab to be located at Pirbright in Surrey.

The CL2 Laboratory, is being built to support 90 scientists researching livestock, avian and vector-borne viral diseases within Containment Level 2 protocols.

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The two-storey, 4,000 m2 laboratory building targets a BREEAM Excellent rating.

This is being delivered through a combination of passive design, intelligent lighting and heat recovery, roof-top photovoltaic arrays and air-source heat pumps.

The deal is part of an overall £100 million development at the institute. A larger lab, likely to cost £70 million, that will concentrate on avian-borne viruses, is also out to tender.

The Pirbright contract is one of a number of substantial projects awarded to Sisk in Britain this year. Earlier this month, it began work on Lewisham Gateway, an 800-home, retail and leisure complex in the south London borough, after winning a €24.5 million contract.