By KARL E. CUPID Tobago Bureau Friday, October 23 2009

THE NEW 103-bed Tobago Regional Hospital is being constructed at an overall cost of $500 million inclusive of the cost of certain equipment and the institution is expected to be in operation by the third quarter of next year, Health Minister Jerry Narace revealed yesterday.

Narace and Prime Minister Patrick Manning led a delegation of Government officials on a tour of the incomplete hospital at Signal Hill near Scarborough.

Also present on the tour were Manning’s wife and Local Government Minister Hazel Manning, THA Health/Social Services Secretary Albert Pilgrim and Dr Denise Tsoi-A-Fatt-Angus, senior special advisor in the Health Division. The project has been mired in controversy since a decision was made to build the hospital about six years ago. The project is now being undertaken by the Chinese firm, China Railway Construction Company Limited (CRCC).

“Under the old arrangement, we were being asked for near 400-odd million dollars to complete this hospital in terms of the construction itself. (But) based on the arrangements we made through NIPDEC and CRCC that aspect would have been (just over) $200 million and we were now able to put in equipment and fully equip the hospital and still be better off than the price that the former contractor had asked for,” Narace said.

“In fact it was the subject of some litigation and we were able to save the Government almost $150 million in fees that they wanted us to pay,” he added. “This contract is near $500 million with equipment and that is the fixed equipment; we would still have some movable equipment to be sourced from the existing Scarborough Hospital and maybe just one or two small pieces (of equipment which we will have to purchase) which would not exceed another $3 million (US),” he added.

For his part, PM Manning said he was pleased that the past controversy was now out of the way and the project was now 65 percent complete. “You all don’t know how difficult it is to rectify work that was not properly done...that is difficult and expensive!” Manning declared.

“And I am very pleased really to come here today and see that that part of it is behind us. It (the new hospital) should be fully operational by the third-quarter of next year,” he disclosed.