A three-floor-1,585-square-meter building will be erected in the Ribeirão Preto campus of the University of São Paulo (USP). According to the USP, the building will feature a Technology Park intended for research and the development of innovation products and processes in the areas of health, biotechnology, bioenergy and information technology, with emphasis on the production of medical and hospital equipment, drugs and cosmetics. The project of the facilities involves investments of R$ 2 million (US$ 1.18 million) by the Government of the State of São Paulo released through an agreement signed with the USP on October 8, in Ribeirão Preto. The construction will be the first stage of the Technological Park of Ribeirão Preto that will be installed in a 300-thousand-square-meter area located in the campus of the USP, in the neighborhood of Monte Alegre. Besides the building of the incubator and administrative center, the project foresees the construction of premises for a technological center and an innovation agency. The park also intends to put together a business center and a technological center for biotechnology, besides the Technology College (Fatec), a unit of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Company (Embrapa), a laboratory of the Popular Medicine Foundation (Furp) and research and development laboratories of corporate nature.The specialization of the park on research in the area of biology and health seeks to take advantage of the inclination of the region known as a hub of development of the sector, being the home to several research institutions and health-related companies. The Technological Park of Ribeirão Preto integrates the São Paulo System of Technological Parks (SPTec), created by the Government of São Paulo to provide the grounds and support innovative development, attract investments and give rise to new knowledge-intensive or technology based companies.São Paulo already has with 30 initiatives for the implementation of technology parks and 17 have already been awarded the provisional accreditation in the SPTec: Barretos, Botucatu, Campinas (two initiatives: the UNICAMP Research and Innovation Center and the CPqD), Ilha Solteira, Mackenzie-Tamboré, Piracicaba, Ribeirão Preto, Santo André, Santos, São Carlos (two initiatives: ParqTec and Eco-Technological Park), São José do Rio Preto, São José dos Campos, São Paulo (two initiatives: Jaguaré and East Side) and Sorocaba.
