BY ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

The China Export-Import Bank will build and finance 70 percent of New Providence’s new hospital with an updated total borrowing sum of $268m, the health minister revealed yesterday.

With a $22m reduction in borrowing costs, Dr Michael Darville yesterday said the decrease was due to the decision to replace “the coated steel structure with reinforced concrete”. He added that the deal consists of a 20-year loan package with two percent interest. While the China Export-Import Bank will take on 70 percent of the financing, the Bahamian government will fund the remaining 30 “either in the local financial markets or international markets”. Dr Darville said he hopes to break ground by the end of July and that the details should be finalised soon.

“The latest negotiation financial terms for the new provident hospital is as follows,” Dr Michael Darville said. The total sum borrowed will be $268m, $22m less from the $290m initially projected.

Dr Darville said: “The loan will be a 20-year loan package at two percent interest, inclusive of a five-year grace period. Over the next two months, after discussions with the Ministry of Finance, we have presented a slightly different approach to the new hospital financing arrangement with the Chinese ExIm Bank.The Chinese ExIm Bank will be responsible for 70 percent of the financing project and to build the mega structure. The other 30 percent will be funded by the government of The Bahamas, either in the local financial markets or international markets.”

Dr Darville said the final details will be completed “shortly”, before the end of July, and he looked forward to breaking ground. He added: “The labour component at that time will be fully disclosed to the Bahamian people. It will be disclosed in this place and in the public domain.”

Dr Darville also spoke on progress made on other healthcare infrastructure throughout The Bahamas, saying “over a half a billion dollars have already been allocated in just four years in office”. He said the expansion for the accident emergency department at the Princess Margaret Hospital is “90 percent completed and scheduled to be fully operational by the end of July”. The tender process for the PMH Legacy ward, including the eye ward, eye theatre, the kitchen, the operating theatre, floors, furnishing and medical equipment for the accident emergency department in both Nassau and Freeport will soon be completed “and the funding is in the $75m,” he added.

Dr Darvile spoke on the Rand Memorial Hospital noting that the renovations to the morgue facility, on-call quarters for doctors, and the upgrade of medical infrastructure are 95 percent completed.

He addressed the mould situation at the hospital stating that the mould remediation exercise units to the east and west of the facility have been completed and will “go back in service in a few weeks”. He added: “These units, when purchased, had some structural defects in the water supply, and when we initiated water to the units, some leakage took place within the walls, creating this problem with mould.”

He noted the groundbreaking for the Coconut Grove Advanced Health Centre, the new Mangrove Cay clinic and the new healthcare facility in Palmetto Point. He said during the budget cycle, healthcare facilities in Inagua, Exuma, Long Island, and Acklins will continue to see renovations and they will “break ground on a few smaller clinics across the country and complete our renovation of our two mini hospitals”.

He added: “Additional funding was secured in the midterm budget by way of the $75m loan facility from CIBC for hospital upgrades to complete phase one of the Freeport Health Campus and begin multi story, concrete structure for phase two to begin now to show the hospital in full fledge and the state of the art hospital fully operational before the end of our term in office.

“We are delivering on our promise to build a state of the art Freeport Health Campus. Phase one of that project is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

“In addition the pre-qualifying bid documents for phase two, inclusive of the multi-storey tower and Water and Sewerage treatment plan will be released by the end of the summer. Following that, we will go out to tender... On completion of this ambitious project, the residents of Grand Bahama will finally have a full hospital with oncology services, transforming healthcare on that island and, by extension, the northern services for years to come.”