The 65-bed Gyaltsuen Jetsun Pema Mother and Child Hospital in Monggar, a gift from His Majesty The King to the people of eastern Bhutan, is now almost complete. According to a status report submitted to the health ministry, construction of the main building is largely complete, with only testing, commissioning, and installation of medical equipment remaining. The hospital missed three deadlines.
The hospital looks vibrant from outside. Its surroundings have had a facelift, and the roads are blacktopped.
Inside, testing light switches, patching up wall marks, interior painting, and tile cleaning among other finishing touches are ongoing.
According to the status report, only a few things now remain, such as commissioning the heating and cooling system, verifying electrical power supply, and completing furniture, kitchen, laundry, and signage work.
Installation of medical equipment supplied by the government has already begun, while the equipment from Japan, supplied through JICA, is expected to begin next month.
The hospital was initially expected to be ready by July last year but was later given a 10-month extension until May this year.
Following a site coordination meeting, a new completion deadline was set for 15th July, but the project missed that target as well.
The contractor has now asked for a further extension till the end of this month.
The past delays stemmed from pandemic, bridge damage and landslides hampering transportation of materials, and workforce shortages.
The current delay is attributed to technical issues such as import restrictions affecting the installation of cooling systems, pending power metering, and the need to verify the transformer’s voltage before medical equipment can be safely connected.
As per the report, around Nu 868 M has been spent so far, out of the revised project cost of about Nu 960 M. The Government of India is funding the project under its Project Tied Assistance programme.
The hospital is expected to be ready for operation once the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) completes the installation of medical equipment by the end of next month.
Namgay Wangchuk, Monggar
Edited by Phub Gyem
