The Australian Synchrotron Project-Update

The Australian Synchrotron – a synchrotron light facility based on a 3-GeV electron storage ring – is under construction at a site in the Metropolitan District of Melbourne. Building preparation started on a “green-field” site in September 2003 and staff moved into their new offices in February 2005. Installation of the technical equipment started in April 2005 with all accelerator contracts expected to be completed before May 2006. Storage Ring commissioning with beam will start in June 2006, and project completion is scheduled for March 2007. In this paper we present an overview of the facility and discuss progress to date in meeting this very aggressive schedule.