PESH AWAR: Senior plastic surgeons have urged the government to let the USAID complete construction of the first-ever trauma, burns and reconstructive centre on its own to avoid delay in the project.

`We have faced huge delay in completion of the burns centre for the construction of which USAID has signed an Memorandum of Understanding with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government,` a senior plastic surgeon told Dawn.

He said that Peshawar High Court recently asked health department to inform it about the status of the centre.

The Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan Integration Foundationbuilt three burns and plastic surgery units in the province within a period of one year. These facilities have started operations. `These centres were built on the proposal by plastic surgery department of Hayatabad Medical Complex to cater to the critically burn and trauma patients in Chitral, Bannu and Dir districts,` said the surgeon.

These centres were set up soon because the foundation did the construction itself and then bought the machines and equipments before handing these over to the government.

The plastic surgeon said that United States Agency for International Development (USAID) agreed to provide Rs1.6 billion for completion of the centre, which was originally started by the federal government through funds provided by Workers Welfare Board (WWB).

The construction began in 2010.

The centre is still not completed owing to which the government approached USAID that agreed to provide funds. However, plasticsurgeons fear that USAID will be doing work through government which might cause delay.

`Construction through government takes a lot of time because everything is done by several departments, which lack coordination.

Therefore, we have conveyed to the government to ask USAID to complete the remaining construction work on its own,` said another plastic surgeon.

Sources said that the federal government didn`t complete the centre at HMC despite lapse of seven years owing to bureaucratic obstacle as well as political considerations.

`We have requested the government that USAID should complete the centre on its own so it could be completed without delay,` they said. They said that scores of examples showed that governments failed to ensure timely completion of health and other projects owing to complicated process and rules but USAID was not bound to follow the government`s law and could complete the pro-ject in a smooth way.

Sources said that federal government had pledged funds for the centre but left it halfway and the same could happen to the USAID`s funding if it was utilised through government procedure.

They said that WWB had agreed to give about Rs1 billion to provincial government for the 120-bed centre but it gave only Rs250 million owing to which it couldn`t be completed. It was supposed to build basement, ground, first and second noor of the building besides purchasing equipment while the provincial government was required to appoint about 300 staffers and bear its running cost, they said.

The deadlines for completion were delayed from one year to another and later things came to a permanent halt when the WWB denied the amount it had pledged.

About three months ago, the provincial government requested USAID to complete the centre and the latter agreed to do so in one year. A PC-1 has also been approved by the government.