Reports that the cost to redevelop the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay, St James has ballooned to more than $21 billion have resulted in social media users being baffled by the continued increase in expenditure on the project.
According to documents relative to the Estimates of Expenditure for the 2024-2025 financial year that were tabled in Parliament on Thursday, the rehabilitation cost was initially set at just over $5 billion. The figure has now been revised to $21.4 billion, leaving some social media users in shock.
But, it should not come as a surprise to many, as last April, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the then $14.1 billion budget to rehabilitate the hospital could be increased, due to global inflation and other variables.
While speaking on a tour of the beleaguered hospital at the time, Holness said: “In terms of the cost, there are factors beyond our control.
“First of all, there is global inflation which we have to worry about, and 90 per cent of what we will populate this hospital with in terms of equipment and technology is imported. So, we couldn’t give you an undertaking about holding the prices fixed,” he stated then.
Fast-forward to the 2024-2025 Estimates of Expenditure, in which it was outlined that $6.7 billion has been spent on the CRH Rehabilitation Project so far.
It is estimated that $5.8 billion will be spent on the works for the upcoming financial year, and a total of approximately $8.9 billion for the combined financial years of 2025-2026 and 2026-2027.
The restoration of the hospital has been plagued by challenges over the years, including issues with contractors, which have delayed its completion.
It was previously communicated that the third and final phase of CRH’s development, which involves the building and installation of medical equipment and apparatus, would be completed in 2026. That statement was made by Health and Wellness Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, during a tour of CRH in November last year, an article from the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) said at the time.
He said then that the phased occupation of the main building would begin in April to mid-year 2024, while the development work continues.
But with news that the cost for the project is increasing further, social media users have suggested, among other things, that a new hospital should have been built.
“This is beyond outrageous… My God!!” wrote a woman in relation to the revised CRH budget.
“I’d like someone to explain to me the cost of a new hospital as the same size of Cornwall Regional, and see if we would get better value for money, because I don’t think this is value, respectfully,” commented another woman on Instagram.
In response, a man said: “Lady, research first before commenting, ’cause we still getting value for money here. It would cost way more to build a state-of-the-art hospital, trust me on that.”
A woman reminded that, “(Prime Minister Andrew) Holness did dun tell unuh from last year the price ago increase. Inflation mek price of things expensive enuh; read people and think!”
But a male Instagrammer said that despite the suggested inflationary effects, “an audit should be conducted to satisfy the citizens’ outrage over the revised costs (of CRH) every year.”
A woman agreed with those perspectives.
“This is taxpayers’ money, and it can’t be that the work is ongoing so long and it can’t be completed.
“Do an emergency audit or something man so we clear on what is going on. Can’t inflation alone,” she commented.
Said a man: “At this point, let us build some new hospitals because the renovation (at CRH) just escalating year after year.”
