UWI South campus one step closer to reality

The South Campus of the University of the West Indies was formally launched on Thursday at a dedication ceremony attended by cabinet minister led by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and top officials of the University, including Chancellor, Sir George Alleyne, and Principal of the St Augustine campus, Professor Clement Sankat.

Minister of Science Technology and Tertiary Education, Fazal Karim said 100 acres of Caroni (1975) Ltd land was approved for the campus that will be located north of the Debe Secondary School.

Karim said that a construction will be done in phases. He said his ministry has already allocated $2 million to the project and funding will be available through the Public Sector Investment Programme. 

He said the campus would accommodate 4,100 students from the 38 secondary schools in South Trinidad. He also announced that the entire campus will get its power supply from solar energy.

Sankat noted that a planning report done in 2007 show that 67 per cent of the persons polled wanted a UWI campus in south Trinidad.

Persad-Bissessar recalled her university days and also announced that Cabinet has approved 30 acres of land for construction of a campus for the College of Science Technology and the Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTATT) in Chaguanas.