Above: Jamaica Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller at the launch ceremony (JIS Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

A new $20 million general hospital is planned for Montego Bay, Jamaica.

The project, which is being developed by the Spain-based Hospiten Group, would include 16 rooms, 28 beds and aims to service both locals and visitors to the island.

Construction is slated to begin “shortly,” according to Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, with completion projected for the second half of 2015.

It will include “image diagnosis centre, a surgical block, an intensive care unit (ICU), a clinical analysis lab, a 24/7 emergency room and 22 hospitalization rooms,” according to a government release.

“The decision by the Hospiten Group to commence construction of this highly specialized general hospital in the heart of Jamaica’s tourism industry comes at a time of improving economic stability, supported by positive ratings by the international rating agencies,” Simpson Miller said. “This investment represents a tangible outcome of Jamaica’s tourism master plan and the work of successive governments.

The project is part of a wider push by Hospiten to increase the number of medical service facilities in Montego Bay, with plans for 11 nursing stations in hotels on Jamaica’s North Coast, along with a new clinic at the Falmouth Pier and the Ocho Rios Cruise Ship Port.

“These are very sound investment decisions which demonstrate Spanish vision, ingenuity and enterprising breaking into this new and exciting frontier for Jamaica’s tourism industry,” Simpson Miller said.

The project could create more than 300 jobs, according to Dr Pedro Luis Cobiella, chairman of the board of Hospiten.