Earlier this week, the Department of Public Information (DPI) informed us that the lack of progress on the construction of the state-of-the-art maternal and paediatric hospital on the lower East Coast Demerara and the news that it was unlikely to be completed before the last quarter of next year had vexed President Irfaan Ali. The Head of State had apparently gone to the project site for a first-hand update and what he saw and heard caused him to become displeased.
According to the government’s official mouthpiece, the President let his ire be known and further, laid down the law, so to speak. Expressing his dissatisfaction, it was reported, he informed the contractor that not only would the deadline not be shifted, but the government would invoke the liquidated damages clause of the contract. The DPI also stated that Ali instructed the contractor to hire more labour, initiate a shift system, as well as subcontract work so that the hospital would be finished by the middle of next year.
Since this hospital was touted as a turn-key facility at the sod turning on July 31, 2022, one assumes that it being completed includes the post-construction phase with medical and technological equipment installed, tested and integrated, and furnishings in place. This €149 million (some $32 billion) project, supported by UK Export Finance (UKEF) and awarded to VAMED Engineering GmBH, involves the design, construction, installation of equipment and operation of a paediatric and maternal five-storey, 256-bed hospital. According to UKEF, the 24,000 sq m property, upon completion, will include the hospital, a technical support building and a parking lot. Its main objective is to reduce maternal and child mortality rates in Guyana.
One of the questions that now arises is whether the contractor would be able to do as the President dictated during his visit this week without cost overruns. If, for example, the initial contract did not cater for subcontractors, how are they to be paid? Further, are the required skills for a building of this type and magnitude readily available to be subcontracted? And last, but not least, how will these contretemps affect the US$161 million contract already awarded to VAMED for the construction of the New Amsterdam General Hospital at Fort Canje? It should be noted that the sod for this project was turned in July of 2022.
Here’s the thing, one does not have to be an expert on the subject to know that a completion date of less than two years was overly ambitious for this project. Well-designed, properly built hospitals, depending of course on size and purpose, normally take between three to eight years, sometimes longer, from design to conclusion if all goes well. Not that hospitals cannot be built in less time. They can. China showed the world what was possible in February 2020, when it built, equipped and furnished the 1,000-bed Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan, in ten days. There are, however, points to note. According to Al Jazeera, the Chinese government used some 7,500 labourers to build the facility to house Covid-19 patients, and they worked around the clock. The design was not new, it was taken from another hospital built in 2003. In addition, it was reported that sections were prefabricated off site, taken to the location and slotted in. According to reports, that hospital worked for the purpose for which it was created. How long it would last might not have been part of the equation when the decision was taken to build it to deal with the mountain of coronavirus cases in China at the time.
That being said, in general, hospitals should be built to last at least 30 years with regularly scheduled maintenance before requiring any major renovations. A modern hospital is also a specialised structure that requires expertise in all of its construction phases. Neither its contract, nor subcontract should be awarded to novices. Speaking of, neither should schools nor drainage facilities, yet this has occurred. The current drastic consequences of those actions that are yet unfolding, and which could certainly become worse down the road, have not drawn the President’s displeasure thus far. Is his vexation at slothful construction selective? The optics seem to point in this direction.
There is no doubt that healthcare is supremely important to all of us. Reduced infant and maternal mortality and morbidity would certainly redound to the benefit of the entire nation. But so would properly and timely constructed schools and drainage projects. Perhaps the President could find it in himself to spread his displeasure a bit wider.