Chinese Government provides grant for Miguel Hilario Alcívar Hospital Reconstruction Project via two ETCAs (Linked to Record ID#59063, #59712)

Project narrative

On October 20, 2016, the Chinese Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) pledging to fund and implement the Miguel Hilario Alcívar Hospital Reconstruction Project in Bahía de Caráquez for the Government of Ecuador. The China Ministry of Commerce subsequently signed two economic and technical cooperation agreements (ETCA) which allocated grant funding covering the total cost of this hospital project. The first is an RMB 300 million grant signed on October 11, 2017 (see Record ID#59712), and the second is an RMB 200 million grant signed on December 12, 2018 (see Record ID#59063). It is unclear how much from these grants were allocated to the Bahía Hospital Reconstruction Project. The purpose of this project is to reconstruct a hospital in Bahía de Caráquez following an April 2016 earthquake. Works Contracting Service (Servicio de Contratación de Obras, SECOB) is the organization in charge of project implementation for Ecuador, per the October 2016 MOU. The government organization approved a technical contract with the Bahía Consortium (comprised of Castro & Castro Constructora and RHR Rock & Hydro Resources) to carry out the work on or about August 19, 2019 worth USD 26,931,848 (listed as about 29 million USD in 2022, see "Gobierno le promete a Manabí que el 2022 tres hospitales estarán listos" and "Hospital de Bahía de Caráquez será una realidad"). The total budget exceeded USD 44.3 million as of August 19, 2019, though with supplemental contracts the total project cost has likely increased. Construction for the hospital began in 2019 and was intended to be completed by February 25, 2022. In April 2021, a supplementary contract was signed for the construction of three additional units not included in the original contract. As of July 16, 2022, while the project continued to face delays, it was said to be about 90% complete.