In his opening statement, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano referred to the IAEA's project to modernise the IAEA Nuclear Applications Laboratories in Seibersdorf, Austria, known as the ReNuAL project. He emphasized that the ground-breaking ceremony will take place on Monday, 29 September 2014. He also stated that when the project is completed in 2017, the new "fit-for-purpose laboratories will meet Member State needs for the next 15 to 20 years."