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It was the first time since the start of construction works that ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ opened its doors to the public but, considering the success of the operation, it will not be the last.

Last Saturday 15 October, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., 25 buses transported close to 800 people onto the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ platform to show them just how quickly ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ is becoming reality. Through advertisement on the French website for ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ and a poster campaign in nearby villages, local residents had been invited to register for a one-hour, free bus tour of the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ site.

Tours were led by ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Communication, Agence Iter France, ENGAGE representatives and ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ staff. Visitors had a close-up look at the near-finished Poloidal Field Coils Winding Facility, the "forest" of pylons in the switchyard that will receive power from the French grid, and the 17-metre deep Tokamak Pit which will house the future ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ fusion device and where foundation work is currently under way. After a stop at the Visitors Centre for a group picture, the bus continued to the five-storey ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Headquarters building that, when finished next summer, will house 500 ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ employees.

 

"People from the local area want to know what we are doing here and why," says ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Communication Head Michel Claessens, "and it is our job to be as welcoming and transparent as possible. It's important to open our doors to the public so that our neighbors can receive answers to their questions and form their own opinion about the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Project."