Contractor sought to build mental health hospital in Hulhumale’

Finance Ministry has initiated a formal tender process to select a contractor for the construction of a state-funded mental health facility.

The Finance Ministry announcement, issued at the request of the Infrastructure Ministry, the project entails the development of a specialized 50-bed hospital dedicated to psychiatric care.

Interested contractors must remit a non-refundable registration fee of MVR 1,500 via the Ministry's digital payment platform, ‘Bandeyri Pay,’ anytime between Wednesday and October 20. Upon completing the transaction, applicants are required to submit their company details and the payment receipt via email to finalize their registration.

Additionally, the Ministry has mandated a bid security of MVR 864,000, which must remain effective for 148 days following the official bid opening date.

On April 27^th, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu announced that the government would be financing the mental health hospital through the state budget following the failure to secure a foreign loan.

The President noted that while the initial plan was to develop the mental health hospital with foreign assistance, and significant efforts were made to secure such funding, the procedural delays in loan processing hindered the project's commencement.

"Due to the lengthy procedures involved in securing these loans and the urgent need for enhanced mental health support, we have discussed and decided to fund the construction of the mental health hospital directly from the government budget," the President stated.

He added that the government intends to redirect the loan facilities originally sought for the hospital toward other requirements within the healthcare sector.

Approximately two months after the President's announcement, Health Minister Geela Ali, in response to the question by MDP’s North Galolhu MP Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudoo) informed the Parliament that a 10,000-square-foot land plot has been designated for the hospital from Hulhumale’.

The Minister emphasized that the facility requires a multidisciplinary team of professionals, adding the decision to establish this hospital in the Male’ area is based on the concentration of existing resources in the capita, including essential diagnostic tests and various specialized treatments.

Initially, the mental health hospital was proposed to be developed in L. Gan.