Chinese Government provides RMB 489.1 million grant for Construction of Outpatient Department (OPD) of the National Hospital (NHSL) Project

Project narrative

On September 16, 2014, the Chinese Government and the Government of Sri Lanka signed a grant agreement for the Construction of Outpatient Department (OPD) of the National Hospital (NHSL) Project. The Chinese Government reportedly committed RMB 489.1 million of grant funding for the project, which involved the construction of a nine-story building that contains an emergency department, an outpatient center, clinics (ex: Obstetrics, Gynecology and Paediatrics), medical and technology rooms, and administrative offices. The construction area at the project site was 49,150 square meters. The project was undertaken to make up for the lack of repairs to the outpatient center, which was seeing 5000 patients each day. The design of the OPD was undertaken by Beijing Institute of Architectural Design Co., Ltd. (BIAD). China Railway 25th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. was the contractor responsible for construction. BIAD and Shenyang Engineering Supervision Consulting Co., Ltd were jointly responsible for project supervision. A foundation laying ceremony took place on April 6, 2017. Then, on August 8, 2017, construction began and a ceremony was held at the National Hospital. Approximately 200 people attended the ceremony, including China’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka. The project was originally expected to reach completion by November 2020. However, construction was ultimately completed on June 10, 2022. During construction, the project reportedly provided jobs for more than 400 local workers. On April 25, 2023, the building was officially handed over to Sri Lanka.