Significant Progress in Construction of Gov’t Forensic Pathology Autopsy Suite

The Ministry of National Security is reporting significant progress in the construction of the $547 million state-of-the-art Government autopsy suite on Orange Street in downtown Kingston.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Courtney Williams, said more than $133 million has, so far, been spent on the Forensic Pathology Autopsy Suite, the operations of which will be overseen by the Institute of Forensic Science and Legal Medicine (IFSLM).

“To date, the main building has been fully erected [and] all substructures associated with the main building and ground floor to roof work are complete. Most of the structural steel activities have also been completed,” he told JIS News.

Mr. Williams noted that the construction of a boundary wall and a parapet wall is still in progress, while work on the septic tank is at an advanced stage.

He added indicated that a total of 112 of 386 programmed project activities have been completed.

“The current expenditure absorbs costs relating to demolition, clearance, excavation and the main building’s construction, electrical and mechanical work, and scaffolding, among other things,” Mr. Williams said.

Meanwhile, head of the IFSLM, Dr. Judith Mowatt, said barring unforeseen circumstances with the suite’s construction, the Institute will be on track to enhance efforts to address systematic issues associated with the investigation of deaths deemed coroner’s cases, among other developments.

Ground for the facility’s construction was broken on November 12, 2021. On completion, it will bolster the IFSLM’s work, making it one of the finest of its kind in the western hemisphere.