Few takers in pvt sector for AIIMS clones

Even as engineering and construction firms are actively partnering private players in setting up medi-cities and super-speciality hospitals, a key initiative aimed at setting up six AIIMS-like hospitals and upgrading 13 facilities is finding few takers.

The initiative is part of the prestigious Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), announced in 2005. The projects, with a total outlay of over Rs 3,500 crore, are scheduled to be completed by 2010.

Few developers have responded to the tenders for setting up six hospitals modelled on AIIMS and upgrading 13 medical colleges.

Health ministry officials said the poor response from the private sector for these projects, each worth Rs 50-100 crore, was unfortunate and needed to be seriously analysed.

"The construction boom has thrown open more projects that one can handle. We will have to market our projects well for a good response," said a ministry official.

The poor response to the 11 hospital upgrade projects has compelled the government to re-issue the tenders. The medical colleges in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) and Salem (Tamil Nadu) are the only ones for which contracts have been awarded. Upgrade work in these two hospitals is in full swing.

The tender inviting private firms to develop housing facilities for the six AIIMS-like institutions has received very few responses, forcing the government to think of floating a second tender. The tender for preparing a detailed project report (DPR), expected to close on September 24, is expected to get a similar response.

Project consultants in the healthcare segment say the government should relax the tender norms. "The archaic norms that keep most well-established players out of the tender process should be kept aside," said a consultant.

"There is a misconception among private players that the realisation period in government projects is more. It is no longer so. We are paying them on time. The before-time upgrade of the Jawaharlal Institute of PG Medical Education and Research (JIMER), Pondicherry, is a recent example," said a ministry official.

The apathy of turnkey consultancy and construction firms is known to be a direct result of "hassle-free" business opportunities in the nationwide real estate boom.

The lack of response has been plaguing the project from the very beginning. It took two tenders and more than a year for the ministry to finalise the consultants for the project. The stringent quality parameters, which kept out most potential bidders, are known to be one of the reasons for the poor response.

The project, which envisages AIIMS-like institutes in Bhopal, Bhubhaneswar, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur and Rishikesh, received the Planning Commission's nod in the 10th Plan. The work was to begin in the 10th Plan period itself. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs cleared the project in March 2006.

The AIIMS-like centres were proposed to fill the gap in tertiary healthcare infrastructure, as well as facilities for quality medical education in under-served states.

Any delay in the execution of the project will raise serious doubts about the government's capability to add healthcare beds on time.