The Congress administration of Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell is looking to select the firm to build the 250-room modern hospital in the Calivigny/Hope Vale area by the first quarter of 2027.
This was disclosed by the Grenadian leader Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell on Wednesday at a press conference held to brief reporters on the series of meetings held by his National Democratic Congress (NDC) to help put together a working Manifesto for all 15 constituencies on the island.
He said: “We are in the process of selecting the Design Build Contractor … the Evaluation process is ongoing. We expect this will take us up to the end of the year with the view that in the first quarter of 2027 that a Contract will be awarded.”
The main opposition New National Party (NNP) has been telling the Nation that the hospital, to cost in the region of US$250 million will never materialise.
Several opposition critics including the U.S-based Dr. Panchoo have been visiting the area selected for the hospital and taking photos of little to nothing happening there.
According to PM Dickon Mitchell, the Congress government has already “issued a request for proposals from local contractors to engage in a lot of the heavy earth works and site preparation that is required.”
“We expect that Contract will be issued sometime between October and December for that to happen,” he said.
The Prime Minister disclosed that his four year old administration has secured up to US$185 million to cover the cost of building the hospital.
The government itself has pledged US$25 million towards the project.
The bulk of the funds for the hospital has been pledged by the Arab Coordination Group made up of Saudi Arabia (US$100 million), and the rest coming from Kuwait and the OPEC fund for development.
PM Dickon Mitchell indicated that the monies have been pledged to Grenada at “very concessional” repayment terms and with low interest rates.
He said the Congress government has enough of the finance needed to proceed with the hospital project and had estimated that each room will cost around US$1 million.