The government has issued a call for the purchase and construction of a pre-fabricated hospital. The facility must be operational within eight weeks, according to the call issued by the Foundation for Medical Services.

The hospital will have various departments and facilities, and will cater for 90 patients.

While Covid-19 is not mentioned in the tender document, the government seems to be following in the footsteps of other countries, notably China, who resorted to pre-fab facilities as Coronavirus cases mounted.

China built a similar hospital with capacity for 1,000 patients in just nine days (photo below).

The CPSU said the contract will be awarded through a negotiated procedure which allows for a contracting authority to consult the economic operators of their choice and negotiate the terms of a contract only in cases of extreme urgency brought about by unforeseeable events. Interested parties have until noon on Thursday to submit a quotation.

According to the call, the hospital must include; a triage area; an emergency room clinic unit; two inpatient high dependency ward units equipped with a minimum of 24 beds, with patient monitors and 12 ventilators and six intensive care units equipped with 60 beds, 60 patient monitors and 45 ventilators.

Other facilities required include; an X-ray room, a pharmacy unit and a mortuary.

The contract will be awarded to the tenderer submitting the cheapest priced offer satisfying the administrative and technical criteria. It must be completed within eight weeks from the confirmation of the order. The chosen bidders will be fined €50,000 per day for late commencement and for every day until the project is executed.