Mental health hospital tender deadline extended with higher bid security

One and a half months after initially opening the tender for a contractor to construct the government-funded Mental Health Hospital, the Finance Ministry has increased the required bid security amount and extended the bidding deadline.

The Ministry first invited bids for the construction of the 50-bed mental health hospital on September 23^rd.

According to the original announcement, the registration fee of MVR 1,500 was to be paid between the date of the announcement and October 20. However, in a new announcement issued today, the Ministry extended the registration period until November 18^th.

Interested parties have been asked to make the payment through the BandeyriPay portal and email their participant details along with the payment receipt to complete registration.

The initial announcement issued on September 23 required bidders to provide a security deposit of MVR 864,000, valid for 148 days from the bid opening date. However, 47 days later, the Ministry revised the requirement on Sunday, increasing the bid security amount to MVR 900,000.

The previous announcement required bids to be submitted through the designated bidding portal before 13:00pm on October 25^th. The latest update has extended the submission deadline to 13:00pm on November 23^rd.

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 towards other requirements within the healthcare sector.

Approximately two months after the President's announcement, Health Minister Geela Ali, in response to a 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 that the decision to establish this hospital in the Male’ area is based on the concentration of existing resources in the capital, including essential diagnostic tests and various specialized treatments.

The Mental Health Hospital was initially planned to be established in L. Gan.