James Cook University won’t sell land as part of $400m Cairns health precinct dream
James Cook University has responded to a bold play to build a $400m medical hub on the taxpayer funded land it acquired, as other political figures weigh in.
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A group of medical practitioners’ big dreams to build a $400m medical hub in Cairns won’t involve the selling of taxpayer-funded land acquired by James Cook University last year, according to its campus boss.
Some high-level discussions are believed to have occurred between the Integrated Medical Services and the university about building an eight-storey medical hub at the site, but the proposal is far from a done deal.
JCU Vice Chancellor, Professor Simon Biggs, said the university “would not divest its assets to manage a deficit in its operating funds” at the planned health innovation precinct, as Cairns MP Michael Healy called for shovels to hit the dirt “quickly” at the Sheridan Street site.
“JCU has no plans to sell any land on the FNQ Health Innovation Precinct site, which we acquired in 2021,” Prof Biggs said when asked about the development plans of IMS.
Federal MP Warren Entsch said the private pitch from IMS, which involves attracting 24 specialist services to Cairns and construction of surgery rooms, accommodation, a creche for staff and a pharmacy, was a “magical” opportunity for JCU.
He said the development was expected to cost “more than half a billion dollars” and expected medical students to rush to study in Cairns.
“JCU would be mad not to be listening to these guys on this project,” he said.
“I’ve seen the scope of some of their specialists that are keen to come up here under their umbrella.
“These are the ones who are actually going to be giving an opportunity to JCU’s medical students like they’ve never had before.
“They will be on the site and be creating magical opportunities and give us so much credibility as a region.”
Mr Healy, who held discussions on Monday with the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service about the state-backed $70m mental health facility, said he hoped to see “things popping out of the ground” soon.
The new three storey building has been held up for more than two years.
He backed any push from JCU engaging private investment.
“JCU bought that land, we procured a percentage of it and that’s what we are planning to build on and we are going to,” he said.
“If JCU want to enter into an agreement with another party then that’s totally up to them, it’s their prerogative.
“They obviously have plans to get things happening there, they certainly haven’t given me any indication of whether that (IMS proposal) is going to happen.”
In September, the university announced it was preparing to axe 146 jobs, one third of them at the Cairns campus, in a drastic streamlining plan it described as “prudent business management”.
Originally published as James Cook University won’t sell land as part of $400m Cairns health precinct dream
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