THE Government plans to spend $365 million this fiscal year towards completion of the $7-billion Western Children and Adolescent Hospital (WCAH) in Montego Bay, St James.

According to the Estimates of Expenditure for 2023/24, the allocation will go towards completing the car park; upgrading of the sewage treatment system; and construction of the hospital main building which is already 20 per cent in the making.

Last year’s (2022/23) revised budget of $191 million to the health facility covered preliminary activities including: site clearance, resurfacing and widening of the road leading to the construction site, utility relocation and reconnection, as well as security services.

The hospital, however, is being financed primarily by the Government of the People’s Republic of China, which is providing external financial support.

Physical targets in the joint venture include the construction, equipping, and commissioning of a new and functional children’s hospital on the Cornwall Regional Hospital’s (CRH) compound in St James.

The hospital is expected to complement the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston by providing increased access to specialised paediatric and adolescent care. When completed, the state-of-the-art institution will treat children and adolescents up to 18 years old across western Jamaica

Former mayor of Montego Bay and current Member of Parliament for St James Southern, Homer Davis says the project “represents another major step for Montego Bay in becoming the healthiest city in the Caribbean”.

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton is, meanwhile, encouraged by the pace of the construction.

“I am very encouraged that it is going to be a really nice institution, based on what we see is happening,” he stated recently.

On completion, the six-storey hospital will have a 220-bed capacity, in-house pharmacy, emergency room, dialysis room, plus administrative offices, a food court, and accommodation for employees.

Tufton noted that there were some issues with finding local skilled labour, including carpenters and masons, for the project. However, he anticipates more skilled labour coming in from China to work on the facility

In the meantime redevelopment of the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay, which began in 2019 and should have ended in 2023, has been given additional budgetary support.

For fiscal year 2023/24 $2.04 billion has been allocated to commence phase 3 works and attain 30 per cent of the CRH redevelopment. During fiscal year 2022/23 $1.14 billion was spent on completing phase 2.