A 500-bed modern hospital under public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement will be built in Chattogram.
Bangladesh Railway (BD Railway) and the United Group (UG) will jointly set up the medical facility at an estimated cost of over Tk3.98 billion.
To this effect, the BD Railway and the United Enterprises and Company Ltd of the UG signed an agreement on Wednesday at Railway Bhahan in the city.
Additional Chief Engineer (Bridge) of the BD Railway and project director Md Ahsan Jabir and managing director of the UG Moinuddin Hasan signed the deal on behalf of their respective sides.
As per the agreement, the UG will set up the 500-bed multi-specialty hospital and a 100-seat medial college on PPP basis in the central railway building (CRB) area of the BD railway in the port city.
The proposed project will be implemented on six acres of land in three phases.
A 250-bed segment of the hospital will be made operational in the first phase within the next three years while another 250-bed segment will be made functional within the next two years in the second phase.
The 100-seat medical college will be made operational in the 12-year contract period.
Besides, a nursing institute and a para-medical college will also be set up at the same location.
The BR got an upfront fee of Tk50 million after signing of the PPP contract.
It (BR) will also get an annual contract fee (ACF) of Tk 15 million from the sixth year of the contract period with an annual escalation of 10 per cent once in every three years.
The ACF payable to BR by the project company (UG) for fourth and fifth years will be Tk 7.5 million each.
The UG will provide healthcare services to BR employees at a discounted rate of 20 per cent.
The healthcare services for other patients will be available at market or competitive rate.
Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan stressed the need for PPP to move the country to its desired development goals.
He said the present government has attached utmost importance to the development of the BR Railway.
He urged the UG to ensure treatment for the limited-income group people at an affordable cost. He thanked the UG authorities for undertaking such project.
Chief Executive of the PPP Authority Al Kamal Siddique, Senior Secretary of the Railways Ministry Md Mofazzal Hossain and Director General of the BD Railway Md Shamuzzaman were present among others.
talhabinhabib@yahoo.com
