This is a loan. They are not paying for it. At 2% interest over 20 years if compounded will mean it will cost around $432 million at the end. I am not saying that the 2% is a bad rate, just they should not be implying that the Chinese are paying for it, when it will be us. Of course the government of today fully knows they will most likely not be around when it comes time to pay, so they don't care.

**Beware if the China debt-trap diplomacy**

**Total bullshyt U.S. propaganda.** The actual reality is no one can identify **not one verifiable** instance of a "China debt-trap" scenario anywhere globally!

Conversely, there are any number of verifiable **IMF and World Bank debt-trap situations ** including in the Bahamas, to be found globally, especially in Africa and other third world countries, that come with government controlling stipulations that hog-ties countries to allow the exploitation by western powers.

China should have been the **FIRST** place government approached for this facility!

We go begging the IMF and World bank hat in hand for loans ,and then we theif , mismanage and plunder the loans and our revenue and then cry debt trap diplomacy .With the money we have taken in as a country we should be financing our own projects and paying the Treasury interest from our earnings .Stop trying to blames others for our failures the IMF and World bank did not put a gun to our heads , our corrupt leaders ,Bahamians ,went running to them licking their lips thinking of all the cream they could skim for family , lovers and friends while passing the burden on to the small man w VAT and ever increasing taxes

I don't think that the people in Sri Lanka would agree with you.

This announcement was to be expected after the Chinese agreed to and completed the refurbishment of the National Stadium. So there will have to be trade offs. With a low interest of just 2 percent, this means that a China construction company will head the project. It also means that less Bahamians will hired for the construction. AND hopefully there will not be excessive cost overruns or shoddy work that have to be redone. The advantage is, since the Chinese are providing funding ( loan) for the project they will be more obligated to ensure the project is at least completed in a somewhat timely manner. Unlike the Baseball Stadium that passed through three successive governments, the Dormitory at Sandilands that suffered likewise fate. Then the project on Wulf Toad where government acquired the property of a private school, invested millions and left it to sit for years as a perfect example of government’s incompetence. Not to mention the former City Market building on Market Street which started renovations under ‘was it Hubert Ingraham and was scrapped by the Christie administration. Then there is the renovation at s Accident and Emergency which was started under Minnis and is yet to be completed. Hubert Ingraham, despit criticism, got the new portion of PMH completed and it is still state of the art.

When one repeats the same errors repeatedly, is it a lost chance at education?, or acknowledging desperation?, or lack of viable options due to years of mismanagement?
Either way it's costing the Bahamian People while some do well.

Our corrupt political ruling class is not the least bit concerned about our country being the latest victim of the debt trap diplomacy that the leaders of Communist China (the ChiComs) have used to seize control of many other nations, especially financially strapped nations in Africa, Latin America and more recently the Caribbean.

It was Hubert Ingraham who invited the ChiComs to our shores back in 1992 when he foolishly took the bait of having the ChiComs build us a national sports stadium in exchange for, among other things, severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan and instead establish diplomatic relations with Communist China.

Since 1992 the leadership of the ChiComs in Beijing have wasted no time in securing their dominion over us by capitalising on the pervasive and incessant corruption within our political ruling class that has left our nation with a mountain of unsustainable national debt and no ability to continue borrowing in the international debt markets. Having to depend on borrowings from the racist Chinese Communist regime led by the very cunning and exploitative Chairman Xi Jinping speaks volumes to how financially destitute and desperate our nation has become under this most corrupt and incompetent Davis led PLP government.

This hospital project will do little for most of the Bahamian people when all is said and done. Only the evil ChiComs and our corrupt politicians who have sold our sovereignty to them stand to be greatly enriched from its construction.

And sometime soon the American people are going to wake to the grave and existential national security threat our ChiCom controlled nation presents to the U.S. at which time the U.S government may have little choice but to treat us as they do Cuba. That of course would deal a death blow to our tourist industry.

Without China there would be no Bahamar, no The Pointe, no British Colonial, no stadium, no Club Med, no Warwick, no funding at 2% when the Bahamas government bonds quote at 10% on international markets etc. They are the only major investor in the Bahamas except for the cruise lines. Would the Bahamas really be better off without China?

Your question is similar to the one Eve should have carefully pondered before falling victim to the evil serpent persuading her to take that infamous bite of the forbidden fruit.

So the same shysters that got ‘a deal’ for the re-do of the shoddily constructed Tommy R Stadium, and allowed the same along with corruption & mismanagement to run amok at the Baha Mar project and The Pointe ( plunging the Bahamas credit rating to ‘junk’) is back with another multi million dollar project to saddle us with.

The idea that any construction coming out of China and employing conscripted workers could top that done by other contractors and/or Bahamian workers is laughable.
One could start with the sand laden poorly stabilized concrete and just stop there. Unfortunately this is but the beginning.

This building will house Bahamians healthcare workers, citizens there to get better, how much will it cost to do the remediations necessary to get rid of the mold?
Duct work that acts like a sponge sucking humidity into it’s so called ‘non-impermeable’ surface?

Let’s see that EIA.
When was this project out for tender to the international market?
How many Bahamian contractors will go bankrupt over this and/or the legals to pursue their claims?
Will the Bahamian people ever see the true amount of debt owed to the CPR that the PLP have consistently and without remorse preloaded onto future generations?

You raise the point that many in the media should be questioning the minister about. When did this go out to tender? How is it that China Construction wins the tender? WHo else submitted a tender?

We need serious journalists in this country who will ask the touch questions, and not just report the tribble from the mouths of these politicians.

This doesn’t happen by chance,” the minister revealed of the loan. “I went throughout the Caribbean. I went to Guyana, I went to Trinidad. The Chinese are building and funding many healthcare facilities throughout the Caribbean.’

And the deceitful devil has plenty more to give to those foolish enough to take it. Bahamians have traditionally prided themselves on The Bahamas being predominantly a nation of Christians.

The hatred and abuse of Christians by the Godless ChiComs in their own country is as well documented as their proven hatred and abuse of people much darker themselves in the many African nations they now have dominion over.

Cost to build **per bed** for a new state-of-the-art hospital can be just shy of $2 Million. --- Making the $290 Million but a **good faith** down payment. The Princess Margaret Hospital is a **410 bed** facility. --- Yes?

The Chinese projects leave much to be desired ............. The National Stadium, Bahamar, The Pointe, North Abaco Dock Facility.

They ALL came with strings attached and much frustration and additional costs in tow

This will be another headache (white elephant) for future Governments to either maintain or repair often

"*. A flyer advertising the meetings, which has been seen by this newspaper, says it is targeted at communities such as Stapledon, Rock Crusher and Dolphin Drive.*"

Is this new hospital for the entire country or will they be creating new hospitals 3 subdivisions at a time. I'm still confused at the limited services. We need a new hospital for **everything** PMH needs to be condemned and the other hospital is too expensive for the majority of the populace

Why is this govt rushing everything? Why does someone have to lift a disabled person up 3 flights of steps at the **newly** designed stadium? Please stop ramming these projects through and think. Please. You like Renward Wells may one day require nonexistent overlooked services at the new hospital

The Politically Elite will jet-off to Miami when sick. They will never see the inside of any local community govt-run hospital. They don't care.

That is dangerous swamp land A spring river seems to flow from Rock Crusher heading toward the Saundes Beach area. All ofvthecarea West of BASH will spring worst with Hlobal Warming and Moon Tides. Great initiative by our neighbor so far away.

The government made the best decision possible in this instance. The World Bank and IMF would have included an extraordinary amount of debilitating strings attached at an outrageous interest rate reserved especially for third world countries.

This is exactly why Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, refuse to accept offers of loans from the IMF and World bank today!

Damm , The IMF and World bank have cut us off or charge a high interest rate bc we are Junk bond status . You let your dislike of certain countries cloud your judgement , money does not move like that , there is no emotion in finance .China is just buying our vote in the United Nations , and if we don,t vote w them or pay the interest they will be ruthless ,, you let emotion and racism cloud your judgement

You're a lost soul SP.

I wonder if "SP" is a real person, or just an account based at the Chinese embassy...SP= Sino-Propaganda?

How much longer can this funny money world system last?

This new hospital should be able to provide ALL services. Then the older and decrepit parts of PMH can be leveled in order to make room for certain additional services in the future.
This new hospital should also have double layer parking and we are not known for providing sufficient parking for any building or venue - just look at Sandals out west and the cars parked on every and all green spaces. It's bloody chaos out there and a huge eyesore.

Creating a complementary hospital to PMH is a good idea ...... why do we always look for NEGATIVES?????

PMH is a fine institution .......... it just needs overhauling. Go to other public hospitals in CARICOM, then compare it with PMH.

Why do you think UWI approved PMH to train its doctors ....... because it is far better than the ones that are in Kingston, Jamaica (KPH/University Hospital)