The Ministry of Health says that it is working with the contractor G Bovell and Sons to speed-up preparatory works for the start of construction of the 250-bed Specialty Hospital to be built at Liliendaal.
The Government Information Agency (GINA) said on Tuesday that Minister of Health Dr. Bheri Ramsaran described the work as being on stream due to favourable weather condi
“Further to that you have a good vision now of the scope of the project- the land is clear and the contractor Bovell was on sight and we are hoping that we could work with him to speed up some of the works that need to be done,” Ramsaran was reported as saying, while describing the project as “alive and well.”
Last year, a US$18,180,000 contract was awarded to Surendra Engineering for the project but since the announcement it has come under fire, with one of the bidders and both parliamentary opposition parties calling for a probe into the award.
According to GINA, a Team from Surendra visited Guyana and met with Health Ministry Permanent Secretary Leslie Cadogan as part of an obligatory meeting to start preliminary talks and to review the progress made on the site.
It added that in relation to some concrete works, which seem to be at a standstill, Cadogan will be looking at how the ministry can work better with the contractor to speed up this aspect.
Fedders-Lloyd, one of five Indian firms which bid for the project, had charged that the procurement process was improper.
The other bidders were the contractor that built the national stadium, Shapoorji Pallonji (which bid US$42,473,600), Jaguar Overseas Limited (US$15,658,000) and the Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research of India (US$19.5 million).
While works had appeared stalled for most of last year, this month there has been a hive of activity at the location.
On December 22, 2012, an advertisement appeared in the Guyana Chronicle for sand for the project.
The advertisement came two days after Stabroek News had reported that that project appeared stalled as a result of a hitch in the Indian financing, following controversy between two Indian companies over how the contract was awarded.
