by Linda Straker
- New hospital, Project Polaris, is capital project of Government
- Afreximbank will fund US$250 million to project
- Prime Minister and Cabinet will each donate one month’s salary every calendar year until Project Polaris is commissioned
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell and the Cabinet of Ministers will be the first to contribute money to an account that will be established by the Ministry of Finance for Grenadians and people in the diaspora to contribute money to build the new hospital, which will be located in Hope Vale, St George.
The new hospital project, Project Polaris, is a capital project of the Government — an 84-acre Medical City to be located in Hope Vale, Grenada, which will include a new, state-of-the-art, climate-resilient, smart hospital as its cornerstone. Government said it would provide the citizens of Grenada with advanced secondary and tertiary services and serve as the epicentre for Grenada’s medical and retirement tourism industry, advanced health sciences research and biotech initiatives.
“I have been asked by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, to convey to you, that the Prime Minister and his Cabinet will lead by example and start this process by donating one month’s salary before the end of 2025 and thereafter one month’s salary in each calendar year, until Project Polaris is commissioned, towards the cost of construction of Project Polaris,” Governor-General Dame Cecile La Grenade announced when she presented the Throne Speech during the ceremonial opening of the 4th Session of the 11th Parliament on Friday, 12 September.
She explained that the Government will also encourage national and diaspora philanthropy towards Project Polaris by opening a special bank account at the Ministry of Finance into which citizens and well-wishers of Grenada can donate towards the construction of the hospital.
The Governor-General explained that the gesture from cabinet ministers is being done both as a symbolic and substantive show of their personal and national commitment towards this transformative project and also to encourage citizens, friends and well-wishers at home and abroad to own the local hospital and healthcare industry. “We encourage all our citizens, friends and well-wishers to contribute whatever you can towards this initiative. Madame President, Mr Speaker, we will ask the designers of the hospital to include a dedicated space — digital or physical — to honour all donors contributing to this transformative initiative.”
The Governor-General also announced that the preparatory works towards the start of construction of Project Polaris is on schedule. “A master site planner has already been retained to do the site planning for the entire 83 acres, as we will develop the site into a world-class medical city. In this new session of Parliament, my government looks forward to the commencement of construction works on Project Polaris in 2026, including mobilisation, and site preparation.”
Government has already launch several initiatives aimed at raising funds to building the new hospital, these include establishing a US$25 million saving account at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), the allocation of EC$23.6 million in the 2025 Estimate of Revenue and Expenditure, approval of EC$405 million in the 2025 Budget Authorisation Act and the announcement from the Afreximbank that it will fund the project to the sum of US$250 million.
The Government is also seeking to raise US$100 million in philanthropic capital grants. It’s not clear if the latest initiative is part of the philanthropic capital grant initiative.
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