By Giff Johnson
For Variety
MAJURO — The Marshall Islands government is gearing to spend $160 million for new hospitals at Majuro and Ebeye, the two cities in this western Pacific nation.
Marshall Islands Finance Minister David Paul said funding is now secured, with the plan to spend $100 million for Majuro hospital and $60 million for Ebeye’s new facilities. Majuro has a population of about 20,000 and Ebeye about 9,000.
Although some earlier estimates suggested the cost could run as high as $200 million or more for both facilities, Paul said the $160 million has been endorsed by government as the cap for the two projects combined.
“For $100 million we’re not going to get a coconut hut,” Paul said in an interview last week.
Majuro hospital’s first phase — a new surgical ward — was completed in 2019. But while funding for other phases was available at the time, the hospital plan became mired in bureaucratic red tape, preventing further construction.
The Asian Development Bank will be a major player in the hospital redevelopment plan for the Marshall Islands.
For Majuro hospital, ADB will provide a $50 million concessional low-interest loan and $10 million in grants, while the $40 million balance will be funded by carry-over funding from the second Compact of Free Association’s funding package, which ended in 2023 but with leftover infrastructure funds that can still be used, Paul said.
Meanwhile, for Ebeye, an ADB grant of $27 million will be combined with $33 million from the Kwajalein Development Fund that is capitalized by U.S. funding in the Compact to support the project.
The ADB is beginning a preliminary assessment for Ebeye hospital, while a design firm was hired earlier for Majuro hospital and has already started work, said Paul.
“ADB will manage both projects,” Paul said. “The money is there.”
He pointed out that the $50 million concessional loan from ADB for Majuro hospital comes with a 10-year grace period during which only annual interest of $300,000 per year is repaid. A 30-year payback period for the overall loan will follow the grace period with about $7 million per year in debt payments to ADB. “It’s manageable,” he said.
