Active Development AidData Chinese Aid

Chinese Government provides RMB 250 million grant — via ETCA — for St. James-based Western Children’s Hospital Construction Project

¥250M RMB

Funder	China Ministry of Commerce
Recipient Organization	Government of Jamaica
Country	Jamaica
Start Date	Jan 01, 2018
End Date	May 20, 2026
Duration	3,061 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`56790`

Grant Description

On January 9, 2017, the Chinese Government and the Government of Jamaica signed an exchange of letters was signed for the Western Children’s Hospital Construction Project.

Then, in July 2017, it was reported that Jamaica's Ministry of Health was negotiating an implementation agreement with China's Ministry of Commerce for the establishment of the Western Regional Child and Adolescent Hospital to be situated at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, St. James.

At the time, the implementation agreement was intended to be funded through an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) signed on February 20, 2015 in which the Chinese Government agreed to provide Government of Jamaica a grant of approximately $48 million USD; however, the project was delayed until late 2018.

On 18October 18, 2018, the Chinese Government signed an agreement with the Government of Jamaica to provide an RMB 250 million grant to construct the St. James-based Western Children’s Hospital and other projects. The funding was granted under an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement, which was signed on October 18, 2018.

The 220-bed facility, which will be the first such in Jamaica and the Caribbean, will be built on the compound of the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay, St. James. The project was expected to commence by the end of 2018 and complete in March 2019. The project officially entered implementation on October 23, 2019.

Project work was temporarily suspended in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2022, it was reported that the Chinese nationals who were on the project site prior to the fiscal year had still not returned from their home country because of the continued impact of the pandemic. However, on January 10th, 2023, it was reported that construction had started up again. As of May 2023, the project was still under construction.

The major works are scheduled to be completed by April 2024.

📋 Staff Comments

Sources report different transaction amounts. The Planning Institute of Jamaica lists 49,600,000 million USD. 'Estimates of Expenditure 2019/2020' lists 6,571,200,000 Jamaican dollars. On 19 October 2018, 6,571,200,000 Jamaican dollars was 338,397,008.70 RMB. Media sources, include Jamaica Information Service, list 250,000,000 RMB.
The Chinese name of the project is 西部儿童医院项目.

📚 Sources & References

Jamaica Receives US$36 Million from China to Build Western Children’s Hospital
Jamaica
China sign agreement to build children’s hospital in MoBay
Ground Broken For Western Children And Adolescents Hospital
China gives Jamaica US$36m to build children's hospital in MoBay
ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE 2019/2020
田琦大使出席援牙西部儿童医院项目开工仪式
中国援牙西部儿童医院项目换文签字仪式举行
田琦大使与牙买加外长共同签署中牙新一项经济技术合作协定
田琦大使在中牙政府间经济技术合作协定签署仪式上的致辞
范参赞出席中牙幼儿园项目实施协议签约仪式
范江虹参赞会见援牙西部儿童医院项目组
范参赞出席西部儿童医院项目实施协议签约仪式
范江虹参赞出席援牙西部儿童医院项目视频碰头会
Jamaica Receives US$36 Million from China to Build Western Childrens Hospital
Project Matrix, 2017 Ministry Paper No. 54
Dr. Tufton Satisfied with Progress of Cornwall Regional Hospital Rehabilitation – Jamaica Information Service
GOVERNMENT OF JAMAICA FISCAL POLICY PAPER FY 2022/23
Work Progressing Steadily on New Western Children and Adolescents Hospital
Ambassador Chen Daojiang's keynote speech at the media briefing
Fiscal Policy Paper 2023 - 2024
JAMAICA AND CHINA SIGN AGREEMENT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF WESTERN CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL Loan applications and disbursements are still being received and processed as the projects continue to evolve. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation are in place to ensure project continuity.