Arima hospital $200m under budget

HEALTH Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said the newly opened Arima General Hospital was completed under budget to the tune of $200m. He said there was no reduction in the square footage or number of beds from the original design.

He said the original price was S1,853,359,751.52, VAT inclusive, and government was able to reduce this to $1,601,276,961.40. He said the ministry was able to negotiate with Udecott to reduce consultancy fees which led to these savings.

Deyalsingh said there are rumours that the hospital was financed by cash obtained from the raiding of NGC (National Gas Company). He laid out how financing was obtained for the project. He said the finance minister went to Republic Bank on July 18, 2018 to take out a loan for $199,641,382; to ANSA Merchant Bank for a loan of US$99,601 on October 18, 2018; and on July 29, 2019 to RBC Royal Bank for a loan of US$16,941,700.90. Through the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) $609,000,000 were sourced.

He said designs were substantially completed in January 2016, construction started in March 2016, the topping off ceremony for the roof took place on September 20, 2017, and the project was handed over on June 4, 2020.

Speaking at the opening of the hospital on Tuesday, Prime Minister Dr Rowley said building the hospital came as a sacrifice to the country, as the funds were not readily available back in 2016. He said government made the decision to go ahead with the project because it was needed by the people of Arima, who had been advocating for it since 1956.

He reminded that when the PNM came into power in September 2015, they presented a budget but had to cut it by seven per cent. The PM said he did not want to put a stop to the project because it would have been hard to restart, which is why the finance minister went to the banks for funding.

He said the US dollar loans would have been used to pay the contractors and purchase equipment, while the TT dollar loans would have been used to pay for materials, etc, sourced locally.

The hospital was constructed by the China Railway Construction Caribbean Company Limited and the project manager was Udecott. The hospital boasts a state-of-the-art Accident and Emergency department, a new pharmacy, fully operational laboratory, psychiatry and outpatient services, including radiology and physiotherapy.

The hospital has 150 beds, 227 parking spaces, and is equipped with 100 per cent generator backup, including fuel storage for 72 hours and 96 hours of on-site water storage.