NaRRA to Oversee Construction of New Kingston Public Hospital

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) will oversee the construction of a new Kingston Public Hospital (KPH).

“Cabinet has already given approval for the acquisition of lands for this new facility,” he said, during his contribution to the 2026/27 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 19.

Dr. Holness said that the new hospital will be built to modern international standards, with resilience, continuity of care and disaster readiness at its core.

He noted that resilience “should not only be for our roads and bridges”.

“Resilience must also include our health facilities. Kingston Public Hospital, as historic and venerated as it has stood for [almost] 300 years, is vulnerable, and had Hurricane Melissa struck Kingston, the consequences could have been catastrophic, potentially damaging or destroying a major national referral hospital at the very moment when the residents of the surrounding area would have needed it most,” he noted.

“That would have added a dangerous new layer of public health crisis to an already severe natural disaster. We have to take note of our vulnerabilities and address them before they manifest,” Dr. Holness added.