Chinese Government provides grant for China-Equatorial Guinea Friendship Hospital Construction Project

Project narrative

In January 2019, the Chinese Government and the Government of Equatorial Guinea signed an exchange of notes on the China-Equatorial Guinea Friendship Hospital Construction Project. Then, on October 17, 2019, Deputy Director of the Economic Cooperation Bureau of China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) Ai Yinfang and Equatorial Guinea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Oyono signed an implementation agreement for the China-Equatorial Guinea Friendship Hospital Construction Project. A supplementary project implementation agreement was signed on October 17, 2020. The monetary value of the MOFCOM grant commitment in RMB for the China-Equatorial Guinea Friendship Hospital Construction Project is unknown. However, it is known that the grant covered the full cost of the hospital: 5,708,266,666 XAF. The purpose of the project is to construct a 100-bed hospital — that occupies a surface area of 5,700 m² — on the outskirts of the city of Niefang and decongest health centers in the city of Bata. More specifically, the project involves the construction of an outpatient and emergency building, a medical technology building, a general inpatient building, an infectious disease building, a logistics building, a sewage treatment station, a garbage treatment station, and supporting infrastructure. The hospital is expected to include clinical departments for obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, internal medicine, surgery, medical examination, emergency services, intensive care, and X-ray and laboratory services. Sinohydro Bureau 6 Co. Ltd. is the contractor responsible for implementation. It was selected by MOFCOM (through a bidding process) on August 4, 2020. Project implementation officially launched on August 26, 2020. Then, a formal foundation stone laying ceremony took place on November 30, 2020. Then, on December 2, 2021, the project successfully passed mid-term acceptance. On October 27, 2021, the hospital was renamed the 'China-Equatorial Guinea Friendship Hospital'. Then, on March 8, 2022, the Chinese Ambassador to Equatorial Guinea visited the project site and note that the COVID-19 pandemic had led to implementation delays. The project was originally expected to reach completion by July 2022. It was ultimately completed in December 2022. An inauguration ceremony was held on August 1, 2023.