The ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel means a $5 million (BD1.89 million) paediatric hospital being built in Ramallah with Bahraini money is still not finished - 10 months after it was due to open.

The hospital has been built with money raised through a campaign by the Palestinian People Support Committee at the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).

Construction of the 34-bed Bahrain Paediatric Hospital, which is part of the Ramallah Hospital, began in November 2004.

The Gulf Daily News, our sister publication, reported in January last year that it was due to be officially opened by last May.

However, committee chairman Abdulrahman Fakhro said work on the third and final stage was being delayed due to political strife.

'There are problems and political unrest in the region, due to which the third phase of the hospital and its opening is being delayed,' he said.

'We are in close co-ordination with health ministry officials in Ramallah, who have confirmed that a team of experienced doctors are working on the last phase.

'However, it is not possible to give an exact date or even month as to when the hospital can start functioning.

'We are expecting the hospital will be officially opened in three or four months.'

The third phase of the hospital involves setting up a strategy to run it, as well as establishing its links with the Ramallah Hospital, which is funded by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.

The purpose of the fund is to assist Arab and other developing countries by providing them with loans and technical assistance for economic and infrastructure projects.

However, Fakhro dismissed reports that delays by the fund had anything to do with stalled work on the Bahrain Paediatric Hospital.

'The delay from the Kuwait fund has nothing to do with the delay on the Bahrain hospital,' he said. 'Both hospitals are managed by different contractors.'

'The hospital is undergoing its third phase, in which a facility will be provided in one of the two hospitals that can be shared by the other. For example, if there is an operation theatre in one hospital, this facility can be used by the patients of the other hospital too.'

'In this way, the construction will be less expensive and the cost can be minimised. It also avoids duplication of services, since both hospitals lie just next to each other.'

Fakhro said it was the most important of several projects the committee has implemented to support Palestinians.

The committee has also set aside a $1.7 million (BD640 million) budget for the operation of the hospital for its first three years.

Money for the hospital was raised through a campaign that brought in over $12 million (BD4.536 million).

Of that amount the chamber received $8.2 million (BD3 million), which it earmarked for various Palestinian projects including the hospital.-TradeArabia News Service