Guyana’s ambitious €149 million pediatric and maternal hospital project in Ogle, East Coast Demerara has encountered significant construction delays exceeding two years, according to Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony. The minister attributed the setbacks to multiple ownership changes involving the original Austria-based contractor VAMED Engineering.
During Friday’s National Assembly Committee of Supply session addressing the 2026 budget, Dr. Anthony revealed that the project’s timeline has been substantially compromised since its ceremonial sod-turning on July 31, 2022. Initial projections indicated a two-year completion timeframe for the UK Export Finance-funded medical facility.
The complexity emerged when VAMED, initially a majority state-owned Austrian company identified through a 2018 intergovernmental memorandum of understanding, underwent successive corporate transitions. The contractor was first acquired by Fresenius, a German dialysis equipment manufacturer, and subsequently passed to another German entity, creating managerial discontinuities that hampered project execution.
Minister Anthony confirmed ongoing diplomatic engagements with the Austrian government to enforce contractual obligations under the original agreement. Simultaneously, the Health Ministry is conducting direct negotiations with VAMED’s current ownership to establish a revised, realistic construction schedule. Technical teams from the Guyanese government and the contractor are finalizing updated implementation plans pending public disclosure.
Financial disclosures indicate €100 million has already been disbursed to the contractor, though opposition parliamentarian Dr. Terrence Campbell questioned the expenditure’s visible progress. For the 2026 fiscal year, the government has allocated GY$8 billion (approximately €32.2 million) to advance construction works at the strategically important healthcare facility.