Chinese Government provides a RMB 330 million grant for the Sfax Hospital Construction Project (Linked to Record ID#66243)

Project narrative

In 2012, the Chinese Government and Government of Tunisia began negotiations on a possible $30 million USD grant for the construction of a university hospital center in the city of Sfax. In June 2013, the Chinese Government publicly announced its intention to construct the hospital. Then, on November 17, 2014 and November 18, 2014, the Chinese Government and Government of Tunisia signed an exchange of letters, which officially committed grant funding for the Sfax Hospital Construction Project. The Chinese Government provided RMB 330 million of grant funding for the project. On March 13, 2017, the Tunisian Government ratified the exchange of letters via Decree n° 2017-360. Tunisia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was responsible for the execution of this degree. The purpose of the project was to build a 246-bed general hospital — with a total construction area of about 26,000 square meters — in the city of Thyna (طينة) outside of Sfax. The hospital included outpatient and emergency facilities, a logistic supports building, an administrative office building, an inpatient department, and a facilities management building. The 14-block hospital also included an 80-bed psychiatry unit, a morgue, guard rooms, and other facilities. This was China's largest aid project in the Tunisian health sector. China State Construction Engineering Corporation was the contractor responsible for implementation. Its subsidiary, China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Corp., Ltd., was also responsible for implementation. Zhengzhou Zhongxing Engineering Supervision Co., Ltd. and SIPPR Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (SIPPR) provided project management and supervision services. A project implementation agreement was signed on April 29, 2016. Construction commenced on December 1, 2016. It passed an inspection on November 30, 2019 and was completed on the same day. After the completion of construction, work continued on the handover process. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic threw the process into disarray. It was only in August 2020 that China State Construction Engineering Corporation that sent 5 of its employees to work on the handover process, which entailed consultations with Tunisia's Tunisian Ministry of Health on issues in the project. Ultimately, the project was externally accepted by Tunisia. Chinese Ambassador to Tunisia Zhang Jianguo and Tunisian Minister of Health Faouzi Mehdi signed the project handover certificate on December 9, 2020. The hospital's inauguration ceremony, which was attended by President of Tunisia Kais Saied, was held on December 10, 2020. The hospital opened its doors — under the name ‘Hôpital Militaire Slim Chaker Sfax’ — on January 4, 2021 and began receiving patients.. After completion, the Tunisian Government placed the hospital under the supervision of Tunisia’s Ministry of Defense in order to transform the hospital into a national center for the treatment of patients infected with COVID-19 during the ongoing pandemic. On October 8, 2019, the Chinese Government and the Government of Tunisia signed an agreement to conduct a feasibility study for the Sfax Hospital Expansion Project (captured by linked Record ID#66243).