Answer for Beesh hospital delay sought

JEDDAH: The National Anti-Corruption Commission has accused the Ministry of Health of delaying the construction of the Beesh hospital located in Jazan.
Several extensions to the project timeline have been granted over a three-year period and the construction project is still far from complete. In a letter to the ministry, the commission asked for reasons why deadlines are continually pushed back and to account for the delay.
The Beesh hospital project started in 2006 and work on the 100-bed facility costing SR 61.3 million was expected to take two years.
Construction on the facility has stalled many times in the last six years, often with no reason offered from the parties involved. This year, the commission became aware of the situation and has asked the ministry to account for the hold-up.
The project contractor said it’s partly due to the late delivery of the project blueprints, which in turn pushed back the overall construction process. These delays also affected the ordering of building equipment like generators, water tanks, air-conditioning units, as well as specialized medical equipment.
The commission also demanded an explanation from the ministry regarding the storage of equipment and asked why some equipment was left outside the partly built facility, exposed to the elements and vulnerable to theft.
The ministry is currently conducting it’s own investigation.