British Columbia's provincial government says it is going ahead with the construction of a "state-of-the-art" research centre at the new St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver. B.C. Premier David Eby holds a hard hat with a hospital sign affixed during an announcement in Surrey, B.C., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

VANCOUVER - British Columbia's provincial government is going ahead with the construction of a $638-million "state-of-the-art" research centre at the new St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver.

Premier David Eby said at a news conference after touring the construction site at the new hospital on Thursday that the province has approved the business plan and funding for the new research facility.

Eby said the research centre is a major step in developing an "ecosystem" of multiple successful companies in the life-sciences sector in B.C., while also ensuring the province has access to the latest medical innovations by attracting top scientists in the field.

"When one company restructures and decides that they are not going to pursue a particular area, there are several other firms that are really excited to hire those experienced workers, and workers transition between the different companies," Eby said.

The goal, he said, is for the province to gain both the economic and health benefits of the knowledge and innovation generated by expert research locally.

"This building will be where we pair up this amazing research that has been happening for a long time with the work that happens in the hospital, so that British Columbians don't just get access to quality care," Eby said. "They get access to cutting-edge care."

The research centre will be built adjacent to the new St. Paul's Hospital.

The operator of St. Paul's Hospital, Providence Health Care, says the $2.2-billion hospital on the site next to Vancouver's Pacific Central rail and bus station is slated to open in 2027.

The province said the research centre will be directly connected to the hospital with a sky bridge and include emerging technology infrastructure such as 3D bio-printing to support medical and health research conducted at the facility.

The cost of construction will be shared by the province, which will contribute about $332 million, Providence Health Care, the St. Paul's Foundation and ChildCare BC New Spaces Fund.

The province said its goal is for the research centre to act "as a cornerstone" for B.C.'s hub for life-sciences research.

Providence Health operates a number of research centres at the current St. Paul's Hospital, and the province said those operations will all move to the new facility, joining "specialty physician practices" that will complement the care provided by the hospital.

Some of the research centres that will make the move include the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, the BC Centre on Substance Use and the Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2023.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the cost of the hospital was $1.9 billion and that it would open in 2026.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2023