The Government of Guyana has forcefully rejected allegations by Austrian contractor VAMED Engineering GmbH that it defaulted on payment obligations and allowed financing for two major public hospital projects to collapse, insisting the contractor’s own performance failures—not Government action—triggered the dispute now headed for international arbitration.

In a statement issued last Thursday after VAMED announced its intention to commence proceedings before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Government described the company’s account as a “misleading narrative” that omits “critical facts regarding the contractor’s performance under these contracts and the reasons for the actions taken by the Ministry of Health.“

At issue are the €149 million Guyana Paediatric and Maternal Hospital in Georgetown and the €150 million New Amsterdam Hospital Campus, projects widely regarded as cornerstones of the Government’s healthcare modernisation programme.