The China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation, a Chinese state-owned enterprise commonly referred to as Sinopharm, was selected to construct the six new regional hospitals in Guyana, Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony confirmed on Friday.
The company’s COVID-19 vaccines were donated to Guyana by the Chinese government, making it the first foreign country to offer this country the lifesaving vaccines at the height of the pandemic.
“A contract has been signed, these hospitals are being constructed by Sinopharm.
“We have started the design process, the sites are currently being prepared and shortly you will start seeing construction at each of these sites,” the Health Minister told the News Room on the sidelines of an event.
He said that six separate contracts were inked about one month ago.
The revelation that Sinopharm will be constructing the regional hospitals was first made to Guyanese journalists in China, who recently toured the company’s pharmaceutical facility.
These six new hospitals are part of the government’s plan to improve healthcare across the country. They will be built at Anna Regina, Region Two; De Kinderen (Tuschen was originally planned), Region Three; Diamond and Enmore, Region Four; Bath, Region Five; and Skeldon, Region Six.
In July, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh tabled an agreement with the National Assembly to cater for the construction of these hospitals. This agreement, a Deferred Payment Agreement (Lot One (1) to Lot Six (6) dated July 12, 2022, was made between Guyana and the China CAMC Engineering Company Limited.
The agreement is billed at a total of €136,132,800 (or about GY$28.5 billion).
Another agreement was tabled for the construction of a state-of-the-art Paediatric and Maternal Hospital at Ogle as well as the delivery of medical equipment to the institution. This costs €161,016,949
He said Sinopharm was selected to build the hospitals because they provided the best financial deal for the country.
“What we did was to go out for a call for persons who can come and give us an offer and Sinopharm is bringing financing and when we evaluated the financing proposal, it was quite a good offer.
“They are putting in the money, they’re constructing and then we’ll have some time to pay,” Dr. Anthony said.
