Tender out for construction of new, state-of-the-art West Demerara Regional Hospital

In keeping with the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government’s commitment to transforming the public health landscape, the Ministry of Health has issued a tender for the new, state-of-the-art West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) that will be built to provide enhanced services to citizens in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).
According to the invitation for bids, the successful contractor will be tasked with designing and building the new hospital. Further information on the project can be purchased from the Ministry of Health during the week and bidding will conclude on November 12.
“Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representative and anyone who chooses to attend at the (National Procurement and Tender Administration Board) on November 12, 2024. Any late bids submitted will be rejected and returned to the bidders unopened,” the invitation to bids states.
During the commissioning of a new primary school at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), last month, President Dr. Irfaan Ali had said that a new modern state-of-the-art facility would be built to replace the current hospital in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) as the Guyana Government continues to transform healthcare services and delivery for citizens across the country.
According to the Head of State, Region Three is rapidly growing economically, financially and in the housing sector as well as its population as enormous amounts of investments are being made there. However, he stated that with this exponential growth, existing services and facilities such as the WDRH have outgrown their purpose.
“The West Dem Hospital has now outgrown its time. It has outgrown what it was built for. It does not meet the modern efficient reliable needs of the citizens of Region Three. That is why, next week we will be launching a new tender for a new state-of-the-art hospital at West Demerara,” President Ali had disclosed.
This new West Dem hospital, the Guyana Leader noted, coupled with existing projects, such as another regional hospital at Zeelugt that is slated to be completed by March 2025, will bolster the region’s healthcare services. Additionally, works are ongoing on another regional hospital at De Kinderen, West Coast Demerara (WCD), and are expected to be completed in the first half of next year.
In the 2024 Mid-Year report, the Finance Ministry said the designs for the new West Demerara Hospital were expected to be completed in the latter half of this year. Meanwhile, the 2024 Budget earmarked some $10 billion for upgrade works to be carried out at the WDRH along with two other regional hospitals this year.
During his address to Region Three residents, President Ali acknowledged the issues that are plaguing the WDRH. In the same breath, however, he pointed out that there have been tremendous investments made to improve healthcare services across the region especially at the WDRH.
As a result of these interventions, the Head of State noted that the regional hospital has churred out high performances in a number of service areas over the past four years. In fact, during the first four months of 2024, the WDRH conducted a whopping 585 surgeries compared to just 16 surgeries done in the first four months of 2021.
Earlier this month, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo had said that the country will soon need over 6000 persons to work in the local healthcare sector, when the six new hospitals “come on stream by the first quarter to the second quarter of next year.”