After surviving in its original building for nearly 90 years, the Government embarked upon an ambitious attempt to build a new hospital complex immediately behind the existing hospital. The new hospital was originally budgeted at approximately US$10 million, and expected to take just under 2 years to construct. In the event, the hospital cost well over US$100 million to construct, and took over a decade. It also costs a further US$16 million to furnish to become operational.[6] The Government was forced to appeal to private donors to help pay some of the cost of furnishing the new hospital.[7]
After numerous false starts, the hospital finally opened on 29 December 2014.[8] Deputy Premier Kendrick Pickering described the new hospital as "a dream come true".[8]
The cost overruns were caused by a combination of bad project management, disputes with construction crews, and ever-changing lists of specifications. Although historically the British Virgin Islands has normally produced a Government budget surplus, but shortly after commencing the new Peebles Hospital projectthe Territory began to run at a deficit (this time period also coincided with the 2008 financial crisis). In 2011 the Territory had its largest ever budget deficit, of US$29 million (approximately 2.6% of GDP),[9] and by 2012 public debt had quadrupled from pre-2007 levels to approximately US$113 million (approximately 10.3% of GDP).[10] Nearly 84% of that public debt was attributable to the new public hospital project.[11] The Economist argued that deteriorating economic conditions in the British Virgin Islands were caused "not [by] sagging revenues but public-sector profligacy",[12] an oblique reference to the disastrous financial mismanagement of the hospital project.
