US$175m district hospital project to improve health care

NMS Infrastructure Limited, a UK Construction company is to construct 120-bed hospitals in six different communities in the country, customised for each of the locations and with innovative features.

 

The Ministry of Health’s  project, valued at US$175 million, will involve six fully equipped district hospitals in Abetifi in the Kwahu East District; Fomena in the Adansi Nunta District, Dodowa in the Dangme West District and Garu in the Garu-Timpani District.

The rest are Kumawu in the Sekyere District and in Sekondi in the Western Region. NMS will also upgrade the European Hospital in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly as well as the provision of hospital information technology and pharmaceutical management systems.

The Deputy Chairman of NMS Infrastructure, Mr. Frederik Hsu, told journalists in Accra that the hospitals had modern designs and innovative features, was designed in partnership with the Ministry of Health are expected to make significant contributions to improve patient care.

He explained that all medical equipment for the hospitals had been sourced from the United Kingdom known for its high quality standards and the entire project execution, currently underway, was being supported by a UK-Ghana technical team.

“This project plays a significant role in supporting the country’s socio-economic development and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, especially those relating to reducing infant mortality, maternal health and combatting malaria and other illnesses,” Mr. Hsu said.

The NMSI Programme Director, Mr Peter Marks, indicated that NMS had developed a well-structured, requirements-driven solution that properly met healthcare needs at every district. 

This arrangement means that every district’s uniqueness and cultural differences had been incorporated into the designs and features of the hospital.

“This hospital is based on innovative designs that enable high speed delivery with lower capital and operational costs which will deliver real health benefits to the people of Ghana,” Mr. Marks explained.

The Country Director for NMS Infrastructure, Mr. Kojo Hastings, said the company had undertaken considerable amount of preparatory work on the project for more than two years.

“It will create employment and offer vocational training for hundreds of people in the country,” Mr. Hastings said, adding that the company’s experienced and highly capable project management team looked forward to delivering the project in partnership.

NMS Infrastructure procured the turnkey finance through Barclays Bank PLC which arranged UK government-backed export finance, which was oversubscribed by international banks on competitive commercial terms.

The Deputy Minister of Health, Robert Joseph Mettle-Nunoo said: “With the support of Barclays we have been able to achieve an affordable, flexible, timely and cost effective funding solution for the country. The financing set a new benchmark for  establishing a new blueprint for future financing solutions between government, Barclays, NMS, and others.”

Ed Harkins, Head of Emerging Markets on Barclays Capex Financing Solutions Team said: “We are delighted to have provided a flexible and competitive funding solution to government of Ghana for such a worthy social infrastructure project. We are also very pleased to have arranged the funding to support NMS and their consortium of other UK exporters for what is a high profile transaction for UK industry into Ghana.”

Currently, officials from NMS Infrastructure and their partners are on the field doing stakeholder engagements across all the project communities, where the people and elders have expressed their support and commitment to the project.

NMS Infrastructure has assembled a world class project execution team, including architects, structural engineers and experts in medical equipments, energy-efficient systems and stand-by power.