On Wednesday, the Government signed a Memoran-dum of Understanding (MOU) with Fedders Lloyd Corporation for the resumption of the design, construction and outfitting of the Specialty Hospital at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara. The contract was originally awarded in 2012 to Surendra Engineering Construction Ltd. (SECL) in the sum of US$18.1 million. This was despite the fact that the company was a spare parts fabricator for sugar mills across India with no experience in the design and construction of health facilities. On the other hand, for the purpose of bidding for the project, Fedders Lloyd had formed a consortium with NOUS Hospital Consultants which had expertise in building specialized hospitals and which had commissioned about 90 hospitals and other healthcare facilities around the world. It had also submitted a bid that was lower than that of SECL.
Having received a mobilization advance of US$3.6 million, SECL began work on the project.