Chinese Government provides $14.5 million grant for Military Hospital Construction Project

Project narrative

In August 2007, President Vieira of Guinea-Bissau obtained agreement from the Chinese Government to build a military hospital in the city of Bissau. Then, on January 16, 2008, the Chinese Government and the Government of Guinea-Bissau signed an exchange of notes regarding the Military Hospital Construction Project. According to email correspondence between AidData’s Executive Director and the Director General of the Office of the Secretary of State for Planning and Regional Integration in Guinea-Bissau, the Chinese Government provided a grant worth $14.5 million to the Government of Guinea-Bissau to support the Military Hospital Construction Project. China’s Ministry of Commerce was the funding source. This project involved the construction of a 200-bed military hospital (known as the Hospital de Amizade Sino-Guineense) — with a total construction area of over 8,200 square meters — in the Brá neighborhood within the city of Bissau. China IPPR was the contractor responsible for project design, and Zhengtai Group was the contractor responsible for project implementation. On April 29, 2009, a groundbreaking ceremony took place. The ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau, Carlos Gomes Junior, and the Chinese Ambassador to Guinea-Bissau, Yan Bangua. The project was inspected and accepted by China’s Ministry of Commerce on July 28, 2010 and August 6, 2010, respectively. Then, on August 20, 2010, the project was officially completed and handed over to the Government of Guinea-Bissau.