SUVA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Fiji on Wednesday held the ground breaking ceremony for the country's first veterinary teaching hospital at the Koronivia Research Station in the capital Suva.

According to a Fijian government statement on Wednesday, the hospital will offer upskilling to vets, which will be a cost effective way to provide veterinary service to Fijian farmers.

The 30-million-Fijian-dollar (about 14.1 million U.S. dollars) hospital will focus on quality of care in anesthesia, contagious disease, dentistry, pain management, patient care, surgery, and emergency care for animals.

Fiji's Minister for Agriculture Mahendra Reddy said at the ceremony that Fiji's animal health and husbandry extension officers can be upskilled and multitasked to handle basic veterinary works if they go through short internship programs at the teaching hospital.

He said the veterinary teaching hospital will play an important role in providing hands on practical experience to vets on how to handle animals and treat them.

In order to attract international students, the hospital will require international accreditation, he added.