KINGSTON, RI Hill International, the global leader in managing construction risk, announces that it has received a contract from the state of Rhode Island's Department of Administration to provide owner's program management services in connection with the design and construction of a new engineering building at the University of Rhode Island (URI). The four-year contract has an estimated value to Hill of approximately $2.4 million.

The vision for the proposed construction is a building that will dramatically elevate teaching and research in engineering, and foster new discoveries that will be the foundation of new companies and stimulate growth in existing Rhode Island companies. The facility will include state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories that are key to fostering innovative research demanded by contemporary engineering firms.

The new 195,000-square-foot facility will replace five existing engineering buildings on URI's main Kingston campus, all of which opened in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The building will be home to seven of the university's eight engineering programs, including biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, industrial and systems, and mechanical engineering.

"This new facility will have a major positive impact on URI's engineering program," said Joseph A. Naughton, Senior Vice President and New England Regional Manager for Hill's Project Management Group. "We are proud to be participating in this important project."