Cabinet clears US$ 18M contract for specialty hospital

Government has approved a US$ 18.1 million contract for the construction of the much- touted Specialty Hospital to be built at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara, head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon announced on Wednesday. Guyana Times International was told that the contract was granted to Surendra Engineering.
Dr Luncheon said the contract is for the procurement of a contractor for the design, building and equipping the hospital. This announcement comes days after the government and the joint parliamentary opposition approved Supplementary Financial Paper Number Two of 2012, releasing much needed funds for the hospital.
Back in February 2011, former President Bharrat Jagdeo had announced the commencement of the tender process. Jagdeo said then that the construction of the facility was expected to start before the end of the year. He said that during his visit to India, Guyana was able to identify a partner to manage the facility, and is ready to access a line of credit that is available to this country. “So, within a-year-and-a-half, maximum two years, any surgery that you can have in the United States of America, we’ll be able to have here in Guyana, with the same quality and (at) a fraction of the cost.”
India, Jagdeo had said, is acclaimed in the field of expert medical care, since U. S. citizens are going to India to undergo certain surgeries, like heart surgeries, which are significantly cheaper there. Figures published in an Emerging Market report for 2007, indicated that in the U. S., it costs US$ 50,000 for cardiac surgery, whilst this same surgery costs just US$ 4000 in India.
Jagdeo said once established, the facility could attract patients from Brazil, other South American countries, and the U. S. “The rates will be negotiated between the government of Guyana and the new management of the hospital, but I can say to you that it is going to be healthcare at the highest possible level,” he assured. Earlier this year, Health Minister Dr Bheri Ramsaran and officials of the Health Ministry met with stakeholders and contractors to discuss the specialty hospital.
Dr Ramsaran said then that the project is a critical one, as he underscored its benefits along with the changes that have been made in the area of infrastructural development. Project manager of the specialty hospital Naresh Mangar highlighted that the project is being funded by the government of India through a line of credit of US$ 20 million.
In addition, local funding will also be used for site preparation, land filling, and other infrastructural work.