1)I would like to find out what companies have provided the general
contracting services for the construction of all BL3 and BL4 ( biocontainment
level 3 & 4 laboratories) to date.
2) I would also like to get a list of the consultants that specialize
in the design of BL3 and BL4 labs.

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Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 13 Mar 2003 16:20 PST

Hello mrpatch-ga,

This is proving to be a tougher search than I expected. Things get
obscure and secretive when you start investigating the status of
biocontainment laboratories and the associated stepped up activity in
biodefense initiatives. It’s a politically volatile topic in the post
9/11 and current pre-war atmosphere.

Just getting an accurate count of facilities is very difficult. The
best information I’ve come up with is that there are about 35-40
existing or proposed BL3 (BSL-3) and BL4 (BSL-4) facilities. I’ve
identified some general contractors that tend to work in this area,
but getting confirmed information about who has provided the “general
contracting services for the construction of ALL” (emphasis mine) of
them would be a daunting, if not impossible, task. I’ve also found
some consultants that specialize in the design of such labs but this
is a very specialized field and the pool seems pretty small. I’d like
to know how long a list would meet the requirements of your second
question.

I’d like to do this research for you, but I need to know more about
the context of your question to be able to proceed. Please tell me
what type of information would meet your requirements in light of my
preliminary findings. I look forward to your clarification.

czh

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Clarification of Question by mrpatch-ga on 14 Mar 2003 05:44 PST

I work for a large commercial building contractor. I need this
information in order to potentally create an alliance with another
contractor and/or  specialty consultant to pursue future work. The
largest and most current facilities will be be best.  Could you
provide a spread sheet listing all BL4's and say 20 BL3's with the
following info: Project name, Size in area or $ value, approx date of
completion ,name of Owner / agency, name of Contractor and name of
biocontainment specialty consultant (with address/phone# if possible)

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Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 14 Mar 2003 12:02 PST

Hello again Mmrpatch-ga,

Thank you for your clarification. My preliminary research shows that
this is a very secretive field and that it will take a lot of digging
to find the information you're looking for.  You're looking for 200 -
300 pieces of information to fill in your spreadsheet. You might want
to take a look at Google Answers: How to price your question
https://answers.google.com/answers/pricing.html

Let as for futher clarification. As I see it, your real need is to
identify a few high quality prospects (contractors and/or consultants)
to approach for pursuing current opportunities in the field.
Identifying current open projects may be more useful than a
spreadsheet of all labs. You don't say whether you're familiar with
this specialty construction area or not. If not, it might be helpful
to get basic industry research and then you could probably connect the
dots yourself on how to find your partners. How you define and price
your research project will depend on which researchers will be eager
to complete it. Thanks for your help.

czh