A new regional biosafety lab is back on track for Kaka'ako after a long delay, but some residents still aren't happy that the center for infectious disease research is being placed so close to condominiums, businesses and gathering places.

The $47.5 million lab, set to break ground late next year, will be a state-of-the-art facility in the Pacific for researching emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases such as dengue fever and West Nile virus. The University of Hawai'i project is largely federally funded under a push to create a network of labs nationwide to study natural and manmade biological threats.

About 30 people came out last night for a community meeting in Kaka'ako to hear details on the project, and several voiced concerns about putting the center in Kaka'ako Makai. Opponents asked officials about safeguards against outbreaks and break-ins.

The center would be near Kaka'ako Waterfront Park, the Children's Discovery Center and within a short walk of a host of high-rises, residents pointed out.

"It is just unthinkable to plant a highly secured, virulent disease experimentation laboratory of this type so close to the center of the urban area as well as Waikiki, which is so important to the economy," Michelle Matson, a member of the advisory group overseeing development of Kaka'ako Makai, said before the meeting. "This is unheard of."

State Sen. Gordon Trimble, whose district includes Kaka'ako, has also opposed the project. "These are the type of concerns that need to be heard," said Trimble, R-12th (Waikiki, Ala Moana, Downtown), adding that the medical school was able to answer some of those concerns last night by showing how the proposed lab is not at risk of being damaged in a tsunami.

Others spoke in support of the center, calling it a beacon for medical research.

"I think it's something Hawai'i really needs," said Clara Ching, a Manoa resident.

UH officials say the facility, which will open in 2011, will not pose a public health risk.

It "should be the safest place in town," said Dr. Duane Gubler, the director of the Asia-Pacific Institute of Tropical Medicine & Infectious Disease. "If they're built right, if the people are trained right, there should be no safety issues."

The lab would have a "level three" biosafety rating, which follows strict federal and state guidelines on how to transport and handle infectious disease samples. "Level three" means the lab will be able to handle potentially lethal infectious agents.

Only two other labs have the rating in Hawai'i — one at Leahi Hospital in Kaimuki and another at the John A. Burns School of Medicine in Kaka'ako. Both are small labs.

"These kinds of labs have both physical and operational safeguards because what you want to do, obviously, is always contain the pathogen you are working with," said Keith Mattson, project manager. He pointed out that most of the infectious diseases to be studied at the facility are common in the Pacific and Asia, such as dengue fever.

UH scientists are also studying avian flu, West Nile virus and SARS.

UH first announced plans to build the lab in 2005, when it received federal funding. The lab was originally proposed for Waimano Ridge above Pearl City. But UH moved it because of the need for extensive infrastructure improvements at the Waimano site. Pearl City residents also had concerns about the project.

The move from Waimano added a year to the university's timeline for the project. More delays were caused because of fears UH could not afford to operate the facility.

And in the meantime, construction costs rose, which means UH needed to ask for more money from the federal government and the state to build the lab. The National Institutes of Health gave UH an additional $7.5 million this year, for a total of $32.5 million. The state increased its $12.5 million initial appropriation to $15 million in 2008.

The new facility will be two stories and about 28,000 square feet.

Mattson said the Hawai'i laboratory will be one of 13 regional biosafety labs in the country. He added its location next to the medical school will mean unique opportunities for professors and students and could ultimately benefit residents in an outbreak.

"We have to be as prepared as possible," he said.