MONTEGO BAY, St James — Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said there are concerns surrounding the downsizing of the Chinese workforce constructing the Western Children and Adolescent Hospital (WCAH) in St James and the impact it will have on completing the project on time.

Last month, the Chinese workers withdrew their services over what they say are payment concerns.

“We are concerned about the pace of the work and what the impact of those issues will mean in terms of delays. There are some reassurances given that the work is continuing and will continue in earnest and the dialogue will have to continue in order to try and get the best possible turnaround time for that project,” said Tufton.

He was addressing a press conference held at the S Hotel in Montego Bay, St James on Thursday.

The minister, who was unable to provide figures, noted that some of the workers, whose contracts have expired, have returned to China. He reiterated that the Jamaican government does not have management control of the project.

The project is a from the Chinese Government, is being managed by that government. The Urban Development Corporation (UDC) currently provides a level of oversight for the project through a project manager.

“Our discussions with them beyond what I would probably not speak to is that they have a team there now, [and] that they will work to make up time to complete the project. But there is going to have to be further dialogue, I believe, at different levels, which will create greater clarity on the pace and what the human resource requirements are,” Tufton stated.

He also revealed that there are currently few Jamaicans on the site, which is a downsizing from what used to be the case. “So, you know, there is a concern. But we want to work with our partners. We’re comfortable with our partners and there is definite sincerity of purpose as it relates to the Jamaica-Chinese government relationship.

From that perspective, it’s a good working relationship. And so, anything on the industrial front between the contractor and the workers, whatever we have to do, we [will] work to try and sort those out,” assured Tufton.

He said the facility and its content are looking good so far. However, he said efforts are being made to ensure quality assurance.

“We are engaging further technical capacity to

ensure quality assurance to work with the team. They are the contractors but I believe we will see how it unfolds in the months to come to hopefully ensure

that the disruptions from the work stoppage would not have impacted either the quality or the timeliness of delivery combined.

Tufton reiterated that when both the Cornwall Regional Hospital rehabilitation project and the construction of the WCAH are completed, it is his aim for the area to become the health campus of the Caribbean.

“It will offer the beds, operating theatres, the Accident and Emergency (A&E) and all the other features that are going to be second to none in the Caribbean based on what I have seen. So, we are still encouraged, [and] pushing for a timeline that will give us the results sooner rather than later and continue to work with our partners in China and the contractor to try and catch up on any delays from what has transpired in the recent weeks,” said Tufton.