L&T Bags Contract to Build LIGO Observatory in Maharashtra

28 Feb 2026 CW Team

The observatory will be built on a site at Aundha and is expected to be completed within 48 months. The work will encompass complex civil engineering and specialised scientific infrastructure to house sensitive interferometry equipment and supporting facilities. Project delivery is scheduled in phases to allow installation and calibration of scientific instruments once construction milestones are met. Phased delivery should permit early installation and staged commissioning of sensors to allow incremental science verification.

Though the contract value was not disclosed by the Department of Atomic Energy, industry estimates placed it at about Rs 10 billion (bn), equivalent to 1,000 crore. L&T indicated that detailed financials were withheld pending formal disclosures. The estimate positions the project among the larger government-funded scientific constructions in recent years and reflects substantial investment in national research infrastructure. Industry sources said such estimates reflect the cost of specialised systems and long lead-time components.

Observers said the project is expected to bolster India's capabilities in gravitational wave science and to integrate national facilities into the international detector network. The construction contract is likely to stimulate local employment and supply chains during the execution phase, while later stages will focus on commissioning and research collaboration. Officials and scientists will monitor progress closely as the site advances towards operational readiness.

Larsen & Toubro has secured a major contract from the Department of Atomic Energy to construct India's Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) at Aundha in Hingoli district, Maharashtra. The company announced the award in Mumbai, describing the project as a national scientific infrastructure initiative aimed at detecting gravitational waves from high-energy cosmic events such as black hole mergers and neutron star collisions. The development forms part of India's expanding research capabilities in astrophysics. The Department of Atomic Energy will oversee the project in collaboration with national research institutes. The observatory will be built on a site at Aundha and is expected to be completed within 48 months. The work will encompass complex civil engineering and specialised scientific infrastructure to house sensitive interferometry equipment and supporting facilities. Project delivery is scheduled in phases to allow installation and calibration of scientific instruments once construction milestones are met. Phased delivery should permit early installation and staged commissioning of sensors to allow incremental science verification. Though the contract value was not disclosed by the Department of Atomic Energy, industry estimates placed it at about Rs 10 billion (bn), equivalent to 1,000 crore. L&T indicated that detailed financials were withheld pending formal disclosures. The estimate positions the project among the larger government-funded scientific constructions in recent years and reflects substantial investment in national research infrastructure. Industry sources said such estimates reflect the cost of specialised systems and long lead-time components. Observers said the project is expected to bolster India's capabilities in gravitational wave science and to integrate national facilities into the international detector network. The construction contract is likely to stimulate local employment and supply chains during the execution phase, while later stages will focus on commissioning and research collaboration. Officials and scientists will monitor progress closely as the site advances towards operational readiness.

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