The University of Coimbra (UC) has been awarding several contracts since March through public tender for the supply and installation of laboratory equipment for the UC Biomed building, built in Polo III, totalling more than 3.5 million euros, according to a Lusa consultation on the public procurement portal Base.

A source from the UC's press office stated that “the final stages of equipment and space organisation” for UC Biomed are underway, and the building's inauguration is expected to take place “in the coming months.”

In November 2024, the higher education institution expected that UC Biomed, representing an investment of approximately 30 million euros, would be completed in early 2025.

According to UC, the postponement of UC Biomed's opening is due to "delays and constraints in the acquisition of furniture – resulting from the complexity of the public procurement process."

The Multidisciplinary Institute of Ageing (MIA-Portugal), which will operate within UC Biomed, already has its research and management teams contracted, who are "working normally in the temporary facilities created for this purpose in the Faculty of Medicine building" at UC's Polo I campus, it added.

"The transfer of research teams to UC Biomed will be done gradually, giving priority to MIA-Portugal," emphasised the University of Coimbra.