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Sod turned for new $11.4B West Demerara Hospital
Kaieteur News-President Irfaan Ali on Friday evening joined residents and health officials in Region Three to turn the sod for the construction of the new state-of-the-art West Demerara Regional Hospital; a project valued US$54 million (GY$11.4 billion).
The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board’s (NPTAB) website published that a consortium, CAMCE and Sinopharm Int’l (China CAMC Engineering CO. Limited and China Sinopharm International Corporation) was awarded the US$54,169,883.76 contract on December 31, 2024 following the national bidding process.
President Irfaan Ali alongside Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, regional and health officials and the contractors during the turning of the sod for the new $11.4B West Demerara Regional Hospital.
The project which is being undertaken by the Ministry of Health is for the ‘Design and Build’ of the hospital. The consultancy firm overseeing the construction of the hospital is Vikab Engineering Consultants.
President Ali in his address said that building massive hospitals like the new West Demerara Hospital is part of the world-class healthcare vision that his government is building out. He noted that as part of the world-class healthcare system, there needs to be world-class infrastructure, world-class equipment and diagnostic facility, and world-class emergency services.
He said when the new hospital is completed, there will be an integrated health and patient management system through digital health and digitization.
“So, this hospital here now, they will have a control room that integrates all the health centres, all the health posts and the hospital on a common platform and all the doctor will be available on that platform,” he stated.
Speaking of what the new hospital will entail when it is completed in 2028, the President announced that it will have more than 150 beds, four operating theatres, the impatient facility will have Accident and Emergency Unit, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), maternity and delivery ward, a general ward, and a paediatric children ICU ward.
He said that there will be neonatal ICU services, and in the outpatient department, there will be endoscopy services, ear, nose and throat clinic, dermatology and ophthalmology services, internal medicine, dialysis, ECG, ultrasound, and cardiology services just to name a few.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony said that the sod-turning ceremony is significant since it has been some 79 years since the old structure started operation.
He said with the new hospital at De Kinderen on the West Coast of Demerara (WCD) which will be commissioned this year, will complement the new West Dem Hospital in providing never before health care services to residents in Region Three.
“The new West Demerara Hospital, you will have CT scan, you will also have a mammographic machine and more importantly you will have an MRI machine that will be in this hospital,” Dr. Anthony said.
He added that persons suffering from heart problems are usually referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital but with the new hospital, that will be a thing of the past as the new hospital will have its own Cath lab.
It was reported that President Irfaan Ali in September 2024 had announced that a new hospital will be constructed. The current hospital has been undergoing several upgrades including the construction of a new mortuary and the acquisition of equipment for laparoscopic surgeries. However, despite the improvements over the years, President Ali said that the hospital can no longer meet the demands of the growing regional economy.
“Now with this growth, we know that the West Demerara Hospital has now outgrown its time. It has outgrown what it was built for. It does not meet the modern, efficient, reliable needs of the citizens of Region Three,” the President said at the time of the announcement.
Following the President’s announcement, the Ministry of Health issued a tender seeking a contractor to undertake the project. Three bidders from China submitted their proposals for the contract, they were China CAMC Engineering CO. Limited (CAMCE) and Sinopharmintl (China Sinopharm International Corporation), a consortium; Shandong High-Speed Dejian Group Inc.; and Qingjian Group Co. Limited.
Sinopharmintl and CAMCE are no strangers to Guyana’s construction industry. Sinopharmintl and CAMCE are currently the contractors undertaking the construction of the six regional hospitals across the country.
(Sod turned for new $11.4B West Demerara Hospital)
- Ministry of Health, new West Demerara Regional Hospital, President Irfaan Ali, Region Three, sod turning ceremony
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