[en] The aim of the FEBEX project (Full-Scale Engineered Barriers Experiment) is the study of the near-field for a repository of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) in crystalline rock. The experiment has three major parts: 1) an in situ test, in natural conditions and at full scale; 2) a mack-up test, at almost full scale, and 3) a set of experimental laboratory tests, to complement the information from the two large-scale tests. The experiment is based on the Spanish reference concept for crystalline rock, in which the waste canisters are placed in horizontal drifts surrounded by a clay formed from highly-compacted bentonite blocks. The complete project, with about seven years of duration (1994-2001), has been divided into four sequential stages, defined by the main features of each stage of the two large-scale tests. This report is part of the pre-operational stage (1994-1996). (Author)