Originally in the running to host SESAME, Armenia launched its own synchrotron project when Jordan was chosen as the location for the Middle Eastern regional facility. Championed by the Armenian-American property magnate, Jirair Hovnanian, the Centre for the Advancement of Natural Discoveries using Light Emission (CANDLE) project aims to build a 3 GeV third-generation light source from scratch in the Armenian capital Yerevan. If successful, it will be the only facility of its kind within a 2000 km radius, serving users from countries of the former Soviet Union, parts of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The Armenian government has provided an office building and 20 ha of land.
CANDLE received an important boost earlier this year when the US State Department allocated $500 000 (€510 000) for the preparation of a technical design report. This report was presented for review by the US National Science Foundation in Washington in August, along with details of scheduling, international participation and scientific programme. Riding on the outcome of the review could be a $15 million injection of US foreign aid towards CANDLE’s projected $48 million price tag. If funding is secured, CANDLE’s director, Alexander Abashian, is hopeful that construction could begin in 2004, allowing the first beamlines to be operational by 2007.
