The National University of Ireland, in Galway, has lodged proposals for a new €61 million School of Engineering building at its Upper Newcastle campus.

The 'ultra-modern' project will be located north of the Quincentennial Bridge in Upper Newcastle, according to plans.

Five engineering departments will be housed in the facility, which will incorporate new technologies, to be used in conjunction with training resources.

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The university's departments of civil, electronic, hydrology, industrial, and mechanical engineering will be contained in the 14,000 square metre site.

Around one thousand undergraduate students will benefit from the new facility, postgraduate education and research provisions have also been incorporated in to the plans.

Almost half of the new building will comprise research laboratories.

A range of high-tech systems will be used in the campus, and form part of the teaching technology tools on offer.

The School of Engineering will be benefit from an eco-friendly biomass boiler, a ground source heat pump and several other 'green' systems.

Plans for the ambitious scheme have been submitted to Galway City Council, which is due to reveal it decision in early October.

NUI expects to complete the facility by 2010.

(PR/JM)