Plans are under way to establish a $64 million pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Barbados to produce intravenous (IV) fluids for local use and export – a first for the Caribbean.
The joint venture between the Government owned Barbados Pharmaceutical Inc. and Nigeria pharmaceutical company AMA Medical Manufacturing, if successful, could generate about $256 million in cumulative revenue over 15 years, while supporting the creation of more than 200 direct jobs, with additional growth potential over time, according to a published project overview.
It added that the manufacturing plant, which is earmarked for the Grantley Adams Industrial Estate, Christ Church, will target annual production of 12 million IV fluid bags to meet domestic and regional demand, reduce import dependence and build essential pharmaceutical infrastructure in the Caribbean.
Local production, based on what is proposed, would reduce reliance on imported IV fluids, lower costs by up to 50 per cent for consumers and 20 per cent for Government procurement, and improve access to essential medical products.
A significant step forward for the project took place in Antigua and Barbuda on Monday during the Commonwealth Business Forum 2026 when a memorandum of understanding was signed by the parties involved.
Commitment
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley was among those present and during a session on From Dependency To Resilience: An Africa– Caribbean Alliance For Pharmaceutical Production, Trade, And Health Security, she shared that a commitment to advance the project was made in July.
“It is intended that they build a manufacturing facility that can produce IV fluids, which will be able to supply our medical facilities in the region and in Africa, and that that partnership can create greater self-reliance,” she explained.
“I’m told that that investment is roughly about US$32 million, and the Government of Barbados has agreed that we will do a public-private partnership, with us taking 25 per cent of the equity, which will be delivered both in cash and in kind through land, etc., and other facilities.
“We are at the stage now where the project preparation work is being done in order to further de-risk the project and to ensure that we are on the right platform and to minimise any difficulties that will compromise the ability to land this project successfully.”
The Prime Minister said the African Export-Import Bank “has also been one of the key partners that has joined us in this exercise, and it is therefore expected that once we can complete that project preparation work over the course of the next six to eight months, and to do the appropriate due diligence, that we should be targeting the last quarter of next year for actual construction of the facility”.
“We are reasonably confident that things should turn out [well], but as is the case with large investments, we need to do the detailed work to ensure that we are on the right track,” she noted.
Government is the sole shareholder of Barbados Pharmaceutical Inc. and that entity signed the MOU on Barbados’ behalf.
Mottley stressed the importance of the proposed new IV fluids manufacturing plan, reminding that during COVID-19 pandemic, Caribbean countries had major difficulty obtaining medicines, medical equipment, and vaccines.
The planned facility was intended to improve regional health security and reduce reliance on overseas suppliers.
“This is a modest start with the IV fluids, but when we start to go through what we use in our clinics and in our hospitals, we begin to realise that this is the beginning of a long journey, where not Barbados and Nigeria alone, but Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America have to work systematically to be able to ensure that there is greater manufacturing capacity and greater research capacity,” the Prime Minister said.
“So I’d like to thank . . . Nigeria, I’d like to thank the World Trade Organisation and I’d like to thank the Barbados Pharmaceutical Inc. and the Ministry of Health in Barbados for bringing us to this point where we are not yet at destination, but where we are signalling an important part with the MOU to move to the next level of project preparation, then to determine whether we can start with the closing of the financing and the construction.”
George Akume, secretary to the government of Nigeria, said his country brought “experience in manufacturing essential medicines, including intravenous fluids”.
“For too long, countries across the Global South have depended on others for essential medicines and medical supplies. We must be able to produce more of the medicines our people need, and ensure that those medicines are safe, effective, affordable, and accessible,” he said.
“We welcome the proposed joint venture between AMA Medical Manufacturing and Barbados Pharmaceutical Incorporated to establish intravenous fluid manufacturing in Barbados, as well as Afreximbank’s engagement in project preparation and the pathway towards financing.
“This is Nigerian enterprise putting down roots in the Caribbean. It is an opportunity to transfer skills, develop local expertise, and establish productive capacity that will remain and grow in the region.” (SC)