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Chinese firm to begin construction of multi-million dollar Gwadar hospital
This file photo shows the construction site at Gwadar port in the Arabian Sea on Feb. 12, 2013. (AFP)
KHURSHID AHMED
November 09, 2019 15:52
KARACHI: Chinese constructors will start work next month on a $100 million Gwadar hospital project with state-of-the-art health facilities for the people of Pakistan’s most under-developed province, Balochistan, officials said.
Chinese mega state-owned enterprise, Gansu Provincial Construction Investment (Holdings) Group Corporation won the bid for the construction of the second phase of Gwadar Port Hospital Project also known as Pak-China Friendship Hospital, in October. The total bid price of the project was $25.7 million.
“The construction on the mega project will start in December this year and will be completed within stipulated time frame of 24 months,” Hajji Syed Mohammad, Chief Engineer of Gwadar Development Authority (GDA), told Arab News.
The project is part of the $60 dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure and energy projects initiated under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The southwestern Gwadar port city which lies on the shores of the Arabian Sea, opposite Oman, is considered the crown jewel of the CPEC.
The GDA is the executing company of the hospital project being financed through a Chinese government grant, with the facility being projected to be the first hospital of its kind in the province built on 68 acres of land and consisting of six blocks. Presently, the hospital is a small 50-bed facility.
“After completion, it will be a 150-bed hospital equipped with most modern technical equipment that is not available in the province at present,” Mohammad said.
“A building can be constructed by anyone, but the actual problem is the availability of the equipment,” he added.
The feasibility study for the project was completed by a Chinese team, and after completion of the second phase, the hospital is slated for a further extension to 300 beds.
Hospital plans show an outpatient department, an emergency department, in-patient department, nursing and paramedical institutes, a medical college, central laboratory, and other allied facilities.
Construction will be jointly carried out by local laborers and Chinese experts as the Gansu construction group is expected to engage both sides in the project. Pakistani authorities will be responsible for providing security to the workers and engineers during the construction of the project.
Locals expect the new and improved hospital will bring great relief for over 300,000 residents in the area who are forced to travel to Karachi, over 600 km away, for treatment.
“At present, due to a lack of health facilities, people take their relatives to Karachi which costs them dearly,” Behram Baloch, Former President of Gwadar Press Club, told Arab News.
“Non availability of doctors in local health facilities compounds the situation for locals,” he said.
The Muslim majority country of 200 million people, lags behind on many health indicators, and for decades, spending on health has remained largely under three percent of GDP. In 2017, Pakistan stood at 150 out of 189 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI).
This file photo shows the construction site at Gwadar port in the Arabian Sea on Feb. 12, 2013. (AFP)
- State-of-the-art-equipment and a 150-bed hospital extension will be funded through a Chinese government grant
- Initiated under CPEC, the hospital project is poised to become the only modern health facility of its kind in Balochistan province
KHURSHID AHMED
November 09, 2019 15:52
KARACHI: Chinese constructors will start work next month on a $100 million Gwadar hospital project with state-of-the-art health facilities for the people of Pakistan’s most under-developed province, Balochistan, officials said.
Chinese mega state-owned enterprise, Gansu Provincial Construction Investment (Holdings) Group Corporation won the bid for the construction of the second phase of Gwadar Port Hospital Project also known as Pak-China Friendship Hospital, in October. The total bid price of the project was $25.7 million.
“The construction on the mega project will start in December this year and will be completed within stipulated time frame of 24 months,” Hajji Syed Mohammad, Chief Engineer of Gwadar Development Authority (GDA), told Arab News.
The project is part of the $60 dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure and energy projects initiated under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The southwestern Gwadar port city which lies on the shores of the Arabian Sea, opposite Oman, is considered the crown jewel of the CPEC.
The GDA is the executing company of the hospital project being financed through a Chinese government grant, with the facility being projected to be the first hospital of its kind in the province built on 68 acres of land and consisting of six blocks. Presently, the hospital is a small 50-bed facility.
“After completion, it will be a 150-bed hospital equipped with most modern technical equipment that is not available in the province at present,” Mohammad said.
“A building can be constructed by anyone, but the actual problem is the availability of the equipment,” he added.
The feasibility study for the project was completed by a Chinese team, and after completion of the second phase, the hospital is slated for a further extension to 300 beds.
Hospital plans show an outpatient department, an emergency department, in-patient department, nursing and paramedical institutes, a medical college, central laboratory, and other allied facilities.
Construction will be jointly carried out by local laborers and Chinese experts as the Gansu construction group is expected to engage both sides in the project. Pakistani authorities will be responsible for providing security to the workers and engineers during the construction of the project.
Locals expect the new and improved hospital will bring great relief for over 300,000 residents in the area who are forced to travel to Karachi, over 600 km away, for treatment.
“At present, due to a lack of health facilities, people take their relatives to Karachi which costs them dearly,” Behram Baloch, Former President of Gwadar Press Club, told Arab News.
“Non availability of doctors in local health facilities compounds the situation for locals,” he said.
The Muslim majority country of 200 million people, lags behind on many health indicators, and for decades, spending on health has remained largely under three percent of GDP. In 2017, Pakistan stood at 150 out of 189 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI).
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