UTech Western Campus to Use Trelawny Stadium

MONTEGO BAY — Trelawny, and its main town, Falmouth, got another boost Wednesday September 7, when the University of Technology (UTech) officially opened its western campus at the Greenfield Stadium.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, President of UTech, Professor Errol Morrison, said that the university has entered into an agreement with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture for the use of a portion of the stadium for classes, starting this academic year.

He noted that UTech owns lands, adjacent to the stadium, with full access to the facilities.

"The architects are drawing up a plan for these 116 acres, because the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture has committed for the university, while occupying adjacent lands, to have full access to the stadium,” he explained.

"We are putting in the diagrams as to what we will be putting there, in terms of faculty,” he added.

He said that access to the stadium facilities represents a very “small step” in what is envisioned for the UTech campus there, as research has shown that there are over 2,000 students in western Jamaica knocking on the doors of the university.

Vice President of Planning and Operations at UTech, Dr. Kofi Nkrumah-Young, in an overview of the plans for the western campus, said that it is expected that the student population will climb to over 4,000 in five years.

"Based on our current plans and assumptions, the construction cost is estimated to be in the region of $1 .75 billion. This is expected to be financed through a combination of strategies, including grants, loans and the cash flow of the university,” he said.

By Bryan Miller, JIS Reporter