Turner & Townsend have completed construction of a new state-of-the-art primate enclosure for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) in Edinburgh Zoo. The £5.65 million world class facility is named the Budongo Trail after the Budongo forest in Uganda, one of the last surviving habitats of wild chimpanzees.

The new enclosure was the setting for a Royal visit attended by dignitaries that included members of the Scottish Parliament and the HRH Princess Royal on 4 March. This event happened ahead of the scheduled public opening in the early summer.

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The Budongo Trail can house up to 40 chimpanzees and features three interlinked living "pods", a 180-seat auditorium, a cognitive research laboratory shared by Scotland's major universities and a significant external living area.

The Budongo Trail is the largest of its kind in the world and improved facilities will increase researchers' capability to study and observe one of the world's most endangered species.

Turner & Townsend, who were appointed via the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) buying solutions framework procedure, provided turnkey design solutions including project management, cost management and CDM coordination.

Turner & Townsend's Project Director, Neil McCowan, said: "We are delighted to have been involved in this innovative project with the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, a leading organization in the field of primate research. It seems appropriate that Turner & Townsend have constructed the most modern building of its kind in the world so that scientists can study man’s ancient evolutionary history and closest living relative."

(CD/JM)