Georgetown: The Government of Guyana has green lighted the approval for some $97M for the site preparation of a specialty hospital to be constructed at a Turkeyen Site but it leaves more questions than answers.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, yesterday announced that the contract for the site development at Turkeyen has been approved.
When the then President, Bharrat Jagdeo, had announced the Specialty Hospital, he had said that it stemmed from a grant from the Government of India to be staffed by Indian Nationals.
Dr. Luncheon when questioned as to why the money was provided by the Guyana Government for the Indian Operated Hospital said there might have been a misunderstanding and explained he does not believe that it was a grant that was identified.
The Head of the Presidential Secretariat said that the Exim Bank of India has made available and approved the funding at concessionary terms which would not make it a grant.
He said that this money provided by the Indians was exclusively for the construction of the Hospital meaning that the preparation of the site would mean a different aspect of the eventual Hospital.
He said that the site preparation inclusive of the land with proper drainage and other amenities would sum up to a fairly expensive proposition for the hospital to operate “properly”.
“That $97M would go toward the land preparation, enclosures and bringing in the utilities facilities (water/roads and such like) that would be needed for a specialty hospital to operate to its fullest potential.”
When asked why such a generous investment on the part of the Guyana Government for a US$20M fully staffed and operated Indian hospital in Guyana, Dr. Luncheon said that he agrees the construction cost should be borne by the Indians.
He did continue that, “the construction has to be seen as different from the site preparation.”
Dr. Luncheon suggested that if the Guyana Government were to be offering the Indians facilities in central Georgetown with existing infrastructure then the development of the site would have been a minimal cost.
He said given that the Hospital will be constructed on almost virgin land in Turkeyen, “significant work will have to be done to raise the level of the land, to bring in the water mains with roads and lights and such like.”
As such Dr. Luncheon said there will be a cost that the Guyana Government will have to bear.
In February this year, former President, Bharrat Jagdeo, and then Minister within the Ministry of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, who is now substantive Minister visited India to finalise the agreement to construct 250-bed hospital.
When completed, the hospital will be providing services including cardio-related and cosmetic surgeries and organ transplant. Construction is anticipated to commence by the first quarter of 2012.
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