Tanzania, Aug. 17 -- Dar es Salaam. Patients in Singida are paying a steep price for delays in completing the regional referral hospital, with some families selling livestock, farms and other property to finance long journeys, accommodation and specialised treatment in hospitals outside the region.

The three-storey hospital building, which was scheduled for completion in June 2019, remains unfinished nearly a decade after construction began, forcing patients seeking specialised care to travel to Dodoma, Mwanza, Kilimanjaro and Dar es Salaam.

The project was included in the government's development plans in the 2016/17 financial year, with the tendering process beginning the following year.

Under the original plan, construction was to b...