WORK has begun on the £50m Universities at Medway initiative, which is at the heart of the strategy to bring economic prosperity to Medway.

The initiative is a key project in the North Kent section of the Thames Gateway regeneration programme and will see student numbers rise to 6,000 by 2010. It will have a major impact on the region's economy, adding £10m of additional expenditure and creating more than 600 direct and indirect jobs.

Contractors Laing O'Rourke began work on a new four-storey academic building for the University of Kent and Mid-Kent College on July 9.

Nick McHard, secretary and registrar at University of Kent, said: “This is a momentous occasion for all of us who are involved in this ground-breaking scheme.

“The start of the construction work on our new building signals our vision is now a reality. We are well on our way to the first students joining us at our new campus in September 2005.”

Work will soon begin on the refurbishment and development of the Grade II listed Drill Hall to provide a Learning Resource Centre (LRC).

Jonathan Sadler, SEEDA project director, Medway, said: “We are very pleased that work has commenced on the expansion of the University campus.

“It will be a significant contribution to the truly mixed-use regeneration at Chatham Maritime. The new building is an exciting modern design situation next to the historic building of Lower Pembroke.”

The partnership is led by the University of Kent and the University of Greenwich, together with Mid-Kent College and Canterbury Christ Church University College. The scheme is supported by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), Medway Council, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM).