Ebonyi State Government on Monday, commenced the opening of Bids for the construction of 39 Primary Health Care Centers (PHCs) across the State.
The opening of bids were sequel to earlier advertisement by the government, with the assistance of World Bank for contractors to bid for the construction of PHCs.
Performing the event at the Centenary city Secretariat Abakaliki, the Acting Commissioner for Health who doubles as the Chairman of the Bid opening Dr Sabinus Nwibo, said that the event marks a significant milestone in the development of the State.
He said that the Government will maintain transparency and due process in the selection of firms for the project.
Nwibo assured that the construction of the PHCs will be completed by April 2025 stating that Governor Nwifuru would commission the projects to mark his two years in office.
Nwibo outlined the objectives of the exercise to include the revitalization of Primary Healthcare facilities in the State.
“Today is a remarkable day, the exercise will define a lot of things in the development of Ebonyi State”
“What we are doing now is inline with the vision of the state government to revolutionize the State ”
The Commissioner noted that the Government advertised the bids in various media organizations inorder to get the best hands for the project.
He commended the Management of impact (the agency anchoring the project) led by the Project Manager Mr Patrick Njoku, for their doggedness in ensuring the take off of the initiative.
In a speech, the Programme Manager of Ebonyi State Impact Mr Patrick Njoku, said that the essence of the bid opening, was to ensure that contractors with capability and capacity were awarded the contracts.
“The contractors would not only handle construction of the centers, but would equally be involved in renovation of structures”
“The bidding exercise had a total of 10 companies, three of them bidded for two lots, we have two lots on the whole, so many sites were put together to form a lot”
He said that Governor Nwifuru has approved the construction of new buildings in all the 39 facilities with staff quarters”
“Lot 1 has 21 Primary Healthcare Centers, while Lot 2 has 18 PHCs, in all we have 39 healthcare centers for the exercise”
Njoku said that the next stage would be commencement of evaluation by a 7-member committee.
Speaking against the backdrop of funding of the project, Njoku emphasized that the State Government was fully funding the project.
“The World Bank had granted assistance to both the Federal and State Governments in form of loans, they are there to guide the use and make sure it was invested for a purpose the loan was granted”
The companies that bidded for the construction of the Primary Healthcare Centers included Emenat Multi-purpose Limited, The Next Transnational Creative Limited, Klin Works Limited and Lumkat Energy Limited among others.
The event was witnessed by Observers, representative of companies, Permanent Secretary State Ministry of Health, the Procurement Officer and Staffs of the Ministry among others.
