NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday asserted that the projected cost of $300 million for a new hospital on New Providence is “grossly underestimated”, casting doubt on the government’s ability to bring the new facility to fruition.
Health Minister Dr Michael Darville recently stated that a 50-acre site in the Perpall Tract area has been chosen for the new New Providence hospital.
As part of the negotiations, 14 acres of the site have been acquired through discussions with Sir Franklyn Wilson, the Arawak Homes and Sunshine Group of Companies chairman.
“We have no knowledge of how much of the Bahamian people’s money or land the PLP intends to negotiate away to this company,” Minnis stated during his budget debate contribution.
“The total projected cost of the proposed hospital is $289 million. This means that you’re not getting a new hospital in 2023, 2024, or 2025. If this hair-brained scheme ever comes to fruition, it will not be until the 2025/2026 fiscal year, coinciding with the election period.
“Furthermore, when the FNM was in office, under Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, when I served as the Minister of Health, we evaluated the cost of the new hospital project. In 2009, the estimated cost was $600 million. Today, it is projected to be $1.2 billion. The $300 million suggested by the PLP is significantly underestimated.”
Minnis added: “We had the plans ready to construct the new wing on the existing PMH site. This approach would have saved tens of millions of dollars as much of the necessary infrastructure is already in place.
“The FNM had already completed a new critical care wing and was prepared to build another as part of the ongoing transformation of PMH. The government returned the funds intended for the new hospital wing, and nearly two years into their term, there is still no financing, no land ownership, no finalized agreement on the land’s price, and no definitive price for the hospital.”
He concluded by asserting: “It appears highly unlikely that the Davis administration will follow through with the construction of any hospital in New Providence.”
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