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number: 660
IN OPERATION THE NEW MODULE AT SPANISH ANTARCTIC BASE “GABRIEL DE CASTILLA”.
15 Diciembre 2009
Since 4th December, service personnel and scientists participating in the 23rd Antarctic Campaign have enjoyed the new living area On Spanish Antarctic Base "Gabriel de Castilla", situated on Deception Island, following the conclusion of installation remodelling work.
Nonetheless, the official inauguration, which will be presided over by the 2nd Chief of the Army Staff, Lieutenant General Villalaín, is scheduled for 16th December, coinciding with the twentieth anniversary of the Spanish Antarctic Base opening. Also attending the ceremony will be representatives from the Ministry of Science and Innovation, which takes an active part in the promotion of the research undertaken in the Antarctic.
The 125 square metre module has a living-dining room, a kitchen, a boiler room, a laundry, a meeting room, an office for the commander of the Spanish Antarctic Base and a Transmissions room; this module has joined the one built the previous year, where the dormitories have been located, with capacity for between 24 and 28 people. With the two new buildings a considerable improvement in the quality of living has been achieved for the members of the mission.
Planning for the remodelling began in 2007 and has been completed at the beginning of this campaign, thus bringing forward the Spanish Antarctic Base opening one month prior to the usual date, to be precise, on 12th December. The objective was to finish the work before the arrival of the first scientific teams, and the five members of the Central Works Command from Madrid have been in charge of finalising the installation of the new module.
