KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – The St. Vincent and the Grenadines government says it has held “focused discussions” with Taiwan on the Taipei-funded hospital under construction here.
Deputy Prime Minister St. Clair Leacock, who returned here from Taiwan two days ago, said the hospital was eight months behind schedule when the new government came to office in November 2025.
“It has further slipped. So we are about 12 months behind now with the schedule,” he said, adding that his delegation last Friday was with the Department for the Overseas Investment Development Corporation. This Taiwan government-backed investment company promotes international infrastructure projects and economic cooperation.
“After the interaction, both sides were clear on each other’s perspective on the hospital, including the New Democratic Party government’s commitment to delivering a state-of-the-art general hospital at Arnos Vale to the Vincentian people as close as possible to, if not ahead of, the agreed timeline,” he said.
“The discussions were frank but fruitful in communicating the New Democratic Party government’s commitment to the project,” Leacock told reporters, without elaborating.
“I had the privilege to accompany the Minister of Health in meetings between the consultants to this project, the contractors to this project, and our own client. And it was forcefully relayed to the constructing firm that we must resolve all the nuances that are necessary to catch up with the backlog and to get this project back on time,” Leacock said.
“Not that it is just politically sensitive, but our people in St. Vincent and the Grenadines deserve affordability, accessibility, and availability of the most modern hospital facility.”
He said this was “properly represented” to the consultants and that “they, of course, identified some of their own issues and concerns, and I think they’ll be visiting St. Vincent shortly to continue with conversations with the minister of health and the prime minister on the urgencies that should be attended here.”
In 2024, the then Dr. Ralph Gonsalves government borrowed US$125 million from Taiwan, with an estimated US$78 million going to the construction of the hospital.
The government said at the time that the contract for the 134-bed acute referral hospital had been awarded to the Taiwanese firm Overseas Engineering & Construction Co. (OECC) and would be completed within 32 months.
But since taking office, the Dr. Godwin Friday government has said it would build maternity and paediatric wards at the Arnos Vale hospital, thereby turning it into a general hospital.
Meanwhile, Leacock, who is also the National Security Minister, said the country’s national security mechanism is expected to receive a boost after holding talks with officials from Taiwan’s National Police Agency, National Security Bureau, and Criminal Investigation Bureau.
“I outlined the national security realities in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, including the impact of cross-border criminal enterprises and our government’s planned vision for creating a safe and secure St. Vincent and the Grenadines, for residents and visitors alike.
“We exchanged ideas on how Taiwan could assist in …training, knowledge transfer and capacity building, as well as physical asset development and human resource development,” Leacock said, adding that as an immediate step, an invitation has been given to St. Vincent and the Grenadines to participate in several training programmes that could benefit police officers and national security officials.
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