- Contractor China Railway Jiangsu Engineering (East Africa) left the site after several unsuccessful attempts to compel the county government to pay.
- Matemba said the oxygen plant installation is part of the ongoing construction of a 750-bed capacity referral hospital.
Image: HILTON OTENYO
Delays in payment for work done at the Kakamega Teaching and Referral Hospital have halted the installation of a new oxygen plant acquired by the county government.
The Chinese contractor abandoned the Sh6.2 billion project in February, citing delays in payment of seven interim certificates amounting to close to Sh500 million.
The contractor is said to have locked a section of the hospital, including the site where the Sh100 million oxygen plant was to be installed.
The county acquired the new plant with a capacity to produce 1,000 litres of oxygen per minute to address rising demand for the gas triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The existing plant at the county general hospital has a capacity of producing 300 litres of oxygen per minute.
The new plant was earlier held at the Port of Mombasa for at least three months by the Kenya Revenue Authority over Sh8 million tax clearance.
County Health executive Collins Matemba said the delayed installation of the plant could compromise the county's capacity to help Covid-19 patients in dire need of oxygen.
"We have a plant, however the contractor has locked it up and abandoned the site, there is little we can do now," he said.
Matemba said the county government paid the contractor Sh200 million in July, but he insists on being paid the whole amount in lump sum before resuming work.
The contractor, China Railway Jiangsu Engineering (East Africa), left the site after several unsuccessful attempts to compel the county government to pay the dues.
Matemba said the oxygen plant installation is part of the ongoing construction of the 750-bed capacity referral hospital.
He has blamed the county's woes for delayed disbursements by the National Treasury.
“Delayed release of cash to counties has stalled the referral hospital project, we have been forced to start exploring other options of getting money to fund the project," Matemba said.
Once installed, it will stabilise the supply of oxygen to county hospitals. The county will sell excess oxygen to neighbouring counties.
The county government has paid Kenya Power for a mega transformer for the oxygen plant.
Marvin Nandwa, a biomedical engineer at Kakamega County General Hospital, said the oxygen plant would require a transformer of its own to ensure it runs uninterrupted.
“The machine is very powerful since it will be pumping oxygen at a higher rate, therefore it needs reliable high voltage power supply,” the medic said.
Nandwa said some of the patients seeking treatment at the facility need very high-flow supply of oxygen to keep them alive.
“We have at least six ICU beds for Covid-19 patients in use where oxygen is required throughout.”
The hospital is one of the projects President Uhuru Kenyatta was set to inspect during his cancelled tour of the Western region two weeks ago.
Once complete and functional, the hospital will provide specialised treatment to residents in the former Western province.
Currently, patients from the region seeking specialised treatment have to travel to either Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret or Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu.
It is also envisaged that the hospital will promote medical tourism and contribute to the rapid growth of Kakamega town into a city, once complete and operational.
Edited by A.N