Chinese construction giant, Mutual Commitment Group (MCG) Limited says it will begin the construction of a 2000-bed capacity international referral hospital in northeastern Nigeria on November 1, 2022.

Usman Nasir Imam, Director of Operations of the group made this known in an exclusive interview with newsmen in Abuja on Monday.

He said the N200bn project will be financed by the federal government under the ministry of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development while talks are on the way with development partners to part-fund the project.

“The federal government has commenced discussions with development partners such as the United Nations, Africa Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) to part fund the project and if possible take over the management of the hospital upon completion. The ministry will decide the state where the project will be sited in the northeast.,” he said.

“Barring any last-minute change of plans, the project which is aimed at providing quality and affordable healthcare to Nigerians especially those affected by years of insurgency in the north east will commence on the 1st of November, 2022,” he added.

The Director said BCG group was awarded the project because of its vast experience in the construction of healthcare facilities.

“MCG has a lot of experience in the construction of healthcare facilities. At the moment, apart from the construction of the Minna general hospital, we are constructing the Asaba hospital which is going to be upgraded to a teaching hospital with a 350-bed capacity. We have much experience in the design, construction and equipping of hospitals not just in Nigeria but across the world.”

On the contributions of MCG to the economic development of Nigeria, Mr Usman stated that the Chinese firm has undertaken the construction of infrastructural projects across the country such as roads, bridges, houses, and hospitals with the provision of counterpart funding and full project-based corporate social responsibility (CSR).

“For example, we actively participated in the construction of the Omotosho power plant under the NIPP, the hospital project in Minna and extension of the Minna general hospital, Danja dam project in Katsina state for irrigation and agriculture and the Nepza power plant in Kano and Calabar among others.

“Most of our projects are based on contractor financing. We are among the few companies in the world that do contractor financing. Here we part-finance projects by providing a percentage of the funds needed for the project while the client provides the rest with a commitment to pay back after some time. We have used this model to assist Nigeria and other countries with limited resources for infrastructural projects. For instance, we applied this principle to the N16bn Danja dam project in Katsina. The state government provided 30% of the funding while MSC provided 70%. The project on the verge of completion is expected to provide potable water and irrigation facilities to the people of Katsina South.

“Each of our projects has its own CSR and we try to ensure the inclusion of CSR in line with Nigerian laws. Most of our CSRs are project-based meaning they are situated within the location of our projects. Some of them include hospitals, portable water, building and renovation of classrooms, hospitals, drugs and so on.”

Incorporated in Nigeria in 2011, MCG is a construction company headquartered in Beijing China. They provide civil engineering construction in Turnkey projects ranging from power, road, hospitals, buildings and other infrastructural projects.