In another week or so, there will be the pouring of concrete slabs, with two shifts operating per day to ensure that they meet the scheduled opening date of the first phase of the home of the St James Medical School (SJMS) in August this year.
Construction of the EC$30 million facility located at Golden Vale got underway following the official ‘ground-breaking’ ceremony on March 26.
St James Medical School has been operating here since 2015 and is currently located at Arnos Vale, school officials had however announced in 2023 plans to construct its own facility.
The project includes the construction of a 5,500 square foot facility providing classroom and student spaces.
In addition, the facility will boast an amphitheatre, officials at the school said.
The first phase is expected to be completed in August, after which construction of the main 42,000 square foot building to house the rest of the institution’s community will commence.
“It is a moment to reflect, celebrate and look forward with anticipation,” Kaushik Guha, Executive Vice President said.
“Over 25 years ago, our institution was founded and has evolved from a hopeful vision into one of the leading medical schools in the Caribbean. It is a position that we hold with pride.”
“From humble beginnings, we have grown into one of the largest medical schools in the region gifting the world with over 800 practicing physicians,” Guha said.
According to the Executive V.P, they were more than just laying bricks and mortar but creating a beacon of learning and community engagement.
Also, the amphitheatre will serve as a cultural and educational hub in the country, he said.
“This initiative is a leap forward towards the future where education and community are intertwined built on a solid foundation of partnership and shared vision.”
“In essence, today is more than a groundbreaking, this is a celebration of unity, determination and shared dreams,” said Guha.
Camillo Gonsalves, Finance Minister and Parliamentary Representative for the area where the facility is located said that St James was one of the early adopters of St Vincent and the Grenadines as the locale for establishing a branch of its medical school.
“They literally could have gone almost anywhere else in the Caribbean to build this university and to invest this $30 million,” Gonsalves said.
But instead, they chose to set up here, and the rest was history.
He explained that there was a medical school operating in St Vincent and the Grenadines for many decades and who signed an exclusivity arrangement with the then government that utiised the entire country for its use and medical development.
“And comfortable as they were with this grant, there was little interest on their part to expand, invest in the community in extending a developmental hand to the citizens of St Vincent and the Grenadines or indeed, doing more than what they had been doing for a very long time,” Gonsalves continued.
Essentially, that institution’s contract was not renewed, and the officials made the decision to invite quality medical schools that shared the same vision for the development of both education and medical education here.
And today, St James had proven itself to be a strong corporate citizen, excellent academic institution and a visionary leader in education and in development in SVG, Gonsalves noted.