Health minister hopeful CRH will be completed ahead of latest timeline
Published:Monday | October 13, 2025 | 12:06 AM
WESTERN BUREAU:
Based on the pace of the ongoing rehabilitation of the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH), Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton believes the project, which has been ongoing since noxious fumes were identified at the Type A hospital in 2016, could be completed ahead of schedule.
Tufton, who visted the site last Thursday, later told a press conference at the S Hotel in Montego Bay that it would appear that the project will be completed before the projected September 2026 completion date.
“The temptation is always to push back the date a month or two in order to get the work done right and to get it perfect, but my position at this point is that we have to deliver on time, and ‘on time’ right now may mean a month or two after what was originally announced. But we cannot go too far beyond that, and I have made that clear to the project team,” said Tufton.
“I do not normally like to give dates, but we had said last time that it [completion of the project] would be up in April 2026, and I’ve even heard mention of September in one article that I read. Based on some preliminary discussions, I am pushing for an earlier date, and I’ve met with the team, and I’ve said we have to do it before September,” added Tufton.
The CRH restoration project, which is carrying a hefty $23.5-billion price tag, has seen several missed completion dates, the latest being April 2026. The projected was originally estimated to be finished by September 2018 at a cost of $2 billion.
Tufton also spoke to the current status of the Western Children and Adolescent Hospital, which is being built on the grounds of CRH. According to him, the recent protest by Chinese labourers, who took industrial action over unpaid wages, could affect the completion time on that project.
“As it relates to the Western Children and Adolescent Hospital, there have been some issues which you know about, and those issues have been suspended, but we are concerned about the pace of the work and what the impact of those issues will mean in terms of delays,” said Tufton. “There are some reassurances given that work is continuing and will continue in earnest, and the dialogue will have to continue in order to try and get the best possible turnaround time for that project.
“I believe we will see how it unfolds in the months to come, to hopefully ensure that the disruptions from the work stoppage would not have impacted either the quality or the timeliness of delivery. When both CRH and Western Children Hospital are completed, it will be the health campus of the Caribbean,” he added.