The Brazilian Antarctic research base will reopen in January after China National Electronics Import and Export Corp. (CEIEC) completes US$100 million worth of rebuilding work, Agência Brasil reports.

The Brazilian state-run news agency says the work on the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station on King George island began in 2017 after a fire destroyed the original facility.

The report says CEIEC prefabricated the new research base in China and assembled it in Antarctica during the summer there, between October and April.

The new facility covers 4,500 square metres, will accommodate 64 researchers, and has 17 laboratories, up from 5, including a microbiology lab for studying Antarctic fungi, the report says.

Wind and solar power generated at the base will supply 30 percent of the energy it needs, Agência Brasil says.