Cay Hill – St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) and INSO, the general contractor for the construction of the new St. Maarten General Hospital, is currently in the final stages of preparing for construction to commence.
As the finalization of the addendum to the existing construction contract is currently taking place which includes the approval of the consortium of lenders, SMMC and INSO are proceeding with the construction preparations as per the existing construction contract signed back in 2016. These preparations include INSO mobilizing their construction staff which they have done by renting a unit close to the construction site and will continue to do so by bringing in construction equipment and delivering the final design.
While INSO is busy mobilizing, SMMC’s Project Management Team concluded the first meetings with the project engineers Royal HaskoningDHV, which are supported by local engineering firm Independent Consulting Engineers (ICE), in the first week of October that took place at SMMC’s Support Center in Madame Estate. This marks the first internal kick off as the final preparations for the start of the construction are now in full swing. During the kick off meetings, all the necessary procedures were discussed in order to ensure safe and sustainable execution of the construction, adherence to time lines as well as establishment of test procedures during construction of the new hospital.
The first item to mark the construction of the new hospital will be the building of a new waste water treatment plant. A new waste water treatment plant is necessary as the existing one needs to be demolished to make space for the new hospital building. INSO anticipates to start construction in November 2019 and will be preparing the construction site (e.g. fencing, placing acoustic panels to reduce the noise, the set-up of site offices etc.) in the meantime.
Regarding the final design, INSO has delivered the so-called “Frozen Floorplan” which is currently being reviewed by Royal HaskoningDHV and SMMC’s Project Management Team. A completed Frozen Floorplan means that there is a full match between the functional requirements that are deemed necessary for the new hospital and the construction drawings. Thereafter, the process of revalidating the equipment list, in particular equipment that needs to be integrated in the design of the building like for instance the CT scan machine will be started.
It is important to note that as the construction of the new hospital commences, this will also mark the start of a lengthy period of certain inconveniences (e.g. noise, dust, increased construction traffic, alternative parking etc.) for patients, visitors, neighbors and staff. SMMC is finalizing adding additional parking spaces close by its premises to accommodate the loss of parking spaces during the construction period. Furthermore, SMMC is close contact with all stakeholders to advise on the next steps in the construction process in order to mitigate any possible inconvenience.
SMMC would like to take this opportunity to apologize for any possible inconvenience that is caused while construction of the new hospital will take place, as SMMC continues its mission of raising the level of health care on St. Maarten and provide the community of St. Maarten and surrounding islands with quality care, close to home.