Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) has secured an order from the Department of Atomic Energy for the establishment of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) at Aundha in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district. The project has a scheduled completion timeline of 48 months.
According to a press release issued by L&T, the order has been awarded to its Heavy Civil Infrastructure (HCI) and Heavy Engineering (HE) business verticals. The contract falls under the company’s “Significant” category, which it classifies as orders valued between INR 10 billion and INR 25 billion.
LIGO is designed to detect gravitational waves caused by cosmic events using multi-kilometre-scale wave detectors based on laser interferometry. The Indian observatory is being developed through a collaboration between Indian research institutions, including the Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT) and the Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), and the LIGO Laboratory of the United States, with support from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
L&T’s scope includes engineering, procurement and construction of vibration-sensitive specialised high-precision civil infrastructure, along with the manufacture and installation of an ultra-high vacuum compatible 8 km beam tube and critical equipment for vacuum infrastructure. The company will also integrate mechanical, electrical, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), fire protection, vacuum control and monitoring systems, as well as associated support utilities.
Larsen & Toubro Limited is a USD 30 billion Indian multinational engaged in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects, high-technology manufacturing and services, operating across multiple geographies.
