GOVERNMENT is working feverishly to complete contract negotiations with Indian firm Fedders-Lloyd for the construction of the Specialty Hospital at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara (ECD). Speaking with reporters at a press conference held at the Ministry of Finance, Main Street, on Wednesday Minster of Finance Winston Jordan said construction of the hospital will begin following the signing of a contract. He disclosed that Fedders-Lloyd has completed the design for the facility.
“The paper work and procedural things are moving relative to where they were six months ago. I believe we are targeting by half year for everything to be in place in terms of contract signing and so on and mobilisation.”
Asked whether there would be a change in the cost of the project, the Finance Minister replied in the negative. “That is the money…today, tomorrow, next week that is the money we have… Exim Bank will not put a penny more because they have already given us the U$18M…and we said we don’t have the resources,” Jordan responded.
He said based on the MOU signed, Fedders-Lloyd will have to complete the construction with the remaining US$13M that was provided by the Export-Import Bank of India. The Finance Minister explained that the Indian company has since altered the design for the hospital so as not to lose any of the money spent to drive piles done by Surendra Engineering the company that was once tasked with the construction of the hospital.
“We are at a stage where designs for the hospital have been completed. This was not done before. At the time when Surendra was terminated they were at 20 % for designs. Fedders-Lloyd have now completed the designs, [and] have had several discussions with the Ministry of Health. There are proposals for some minor alterations,” he added.
The Finance Minister stressed that the government was working to “pull together a contract” so that work could commence on the Liliendaal location. The Ministry of Health, he said, had written to the Tender Board on the issue.
“The design that is being done had to be altered to take account of the work that was done by Surendra… The two designs were different. Fedders-Llody’s design was different from Surendra. The piles were for their [Surendra] design…so as not to lose the piles that have been driven and the amount of money spent, Fedders-Lloyd had to go there, look at the configuration, bring their two engineers from India, and go back to India and try to put a design that could use if not all, almost all of the piles that had been driven,” the Minister explained.
Jordan commended the Indian Company for doing a “pretty good job” in trying to work with what existed. Last November, the Government signed an agreement with Fedders-Lloyd for the construction of the Specialty Hospital. Fedders-Lloyd, as part of the MOU with the GOG, was required to review the works already started on the Specialty Hospital; conclude a design of the Hospital that is acceptable to the GOG and commit to fully equip the facility on completion of its construction.
Work on the Specialty Hospital was halted after allegations of impropriety and fraud were leveled against the contractor, Surendra Engineering Company, who won the bid for its construction in 2012. The former People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration had terminated the contract and moved to the court to seek remedies. The former government was successful as the court ruled in its favour.
Since the signing of the MOU last year, the APNU-AFC coalition government came under fire for not going through the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) but said it had reviewed the project upon taking office and concluded that there was no existing contract that could have been enforced and also decided that it would have been impractical to continue to keep the Line of Credit (LOC) in its existing form given that it attracted commitment fees.
Government recognizing the need to have the LOC for the Specialty Hospital re-examined requested that the EXIM Bank of India cancel the LOC for the Specialty Hospital and reallocate the balance of funds to a project aimed at modernizing three Primary Healthcare Facilities. The coalition government said it then went in search of a “willing partner” to complete the Specialty Hospital using the remainder of the LOC. Fedders-Lloyd expressed an interest to complete the Hospital with the available finances.
The Specialty Hospital is intended to cater for high risk surgeries and other health care demands. While in opposition, the now administration had voted against the use of funds for the project. They had cited several concerns.