Health minister explains reason for delayed completion of paediatric and maternal hospital

Last Updated on Saturday, 14 February 2026, 1:21 by Writer

Construction of the €$149 million (more than US$150 million) paediatric and maternal hospital at Ogle, East Coast Demerara is more than two years behind schedule because the original Austria-owned VAMED Engineering has since changed ownership several times, health minister Dr Frank Anthony said on Friday.

“This project has been delayed,” Dr Anthony said. At the sod-turning ceremony on July 31, 2022, officials had said the hospital, being funded by the United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEP), would have been completed in two years.

Replying to questions from A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) Dr Terrence Campbell, he told the National Assembly’s Committee of Supply during consideration of the 2026 budget that efforts were being made to have the Austrian government resolve the lag with the new owners of VAMED.

“We have engaged the Austrians. the Austrian government whom we started out with with this MOU (memorandum of understanding) and they have also been ensuring that the company deliver what was promised in the MOU. So, yes, it’s delayed and we need to make sure that we get this project completed,” he said.

The minister explained that based on an agreement signed in 2018 with the Austrian government, the priorities were the Georgetown Hospital and the Diamond Hospital but those were subsequently changed to the paediatric and maternal hospital.

Dr Anthony said based on that agreement, the Austrian government had identified VAMED, a then majority state-owned company, for the project at Ogle. However, over the past two years, the company was sold to Fresenius, a dialysis machine manufacturer. “I think that caused some of the delays that we are experiencing because new management, a private company now,” he said. He said the problem was further compounded when Fresenius was sold to a German company.

Dr Anthony also said that the Ministry of Health was holding talks with the new owners of VAMED to finish the project. He said the aim is to make sure that “all that was listed in there that it’s completed and done in a realistic timeframe” based on a new schedule.

The minister said Guyana government engineers and VAMET were finalising plans after which those would be made public.

Dr Anthony said already €100 million had been disbursed to the contractor, but Dr Campbell said “visual evidence doesn’t suggest anyway close to a hundred million Euros in construction.”

Dr Anthony said this year, GY$8 billion (€32.2 million) has been budgeted to continue works at that facility.