A former engineering student has given £40 million to Imperial College London to create a research centre for bio-medical technology. Michael Uren said he made the donation to “help London create a new Silicon Valley”.

The Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Hub — to be built at the university’s new Imperial West campus in west London — will see scientists and clinicians working with a wide range of companies.

Mr Uren, who graduated in 1943 with a degree in mechanical engineering, founded cement manufacturer Civil & Marine Ltd, which he sold in 2006 for £400 million, according to The Times. He said: “What I find so exciting about this project is that Imperial is building one of the biggest research centres in the world within a few miles of the City of London, which itself is the biggest financial centre in the world today.

"The investment world will be watching for the research and inventions that will create tomorrow’s great companies. It seems to me that, in effect, what we are creating here is a new Silicon Valley London, which is bound to succeed.”

Sir Keith O'Nions, president of Imperial College London, said: “This remarkable gift will create a wholly new building and set of facilities for engineers and medics to come together and make new discoveries and innovations on an unparalleled scale. It provides enormous impetus to the development of Imperial West as an innovation district.”

The news of the donation comes a month after London Mayor Boris Johnson announced the launch of MedCity — a hub of medical research centres working to create new health-care solutions — at Imperial College’s Hammersmith campus, which is adjacent to Imperial West.