Chinese Government provides RMB 250 million grant — via ETCA — for St. James-based Western Children’s Hospital Construction Project

Project narrative

On January 9, 2017, the Chinese Government and the Government of Jamaica signed an exchange of letters was signed for the Western Children’s Hospital Construction Project. Then, in July 2017, it was reported that Jamaica's Ministry of Health was negotiating an implementation agreement with China's Ministry of Commerce for the establishment of the Western Regional Child and Adolescent Hospital to be situated at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, St. James. At the time, the implementation agreement was intended to be funded through an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) signed on February 20, 2015 in which the Chinese Government agreed to provide Government of Jamaica a grant of approximately $48 million USD; however, the project was delayed until late 2018. On 18October 18, 2018, the Chinese Government signed an agreement with the Government of Jamaica to provide an RMB 250 million grant to construct the St. James-based Western Children’s Hospital and other projects. The funding was granted under an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement, which was signed on October 18, 2018. The 220-bed facility, which will be the first such in Jamaica and the Caribbean, will be built on the compound of the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay, St. James. The project was expected to commence by the end of 2018 and complete in March 2019. The project officially entered implementation on October 23, 2019. Project work was temporarily suspended in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, it was reported that the Chinese nationals who were on the project site prior to the fiscal year had still not returned from their home country because of the continued impact of the pandemic. However, on January 10th, 2023, it was reported that construction had started up again. As of May 2023, the project was still under construction. The major works are scheduled to be completed by April 2024.