Three Malta-based joint ventures have bid to design, build and run a new geriatric hospital at St Vincent de Paul, one of the largest tenders Malta has ever issued. The ventures are led by Saint James Hospital, CareMalta and James Caterers, each competing for a contract the health ministry put out earlier this year as part of its plan to develop the facility.
The government estimated the contract at around €1.38 billion. When the tender was opened on Wednesday morning, all three offers came in hundreds of millions of euros above that figure.
CareLink Medical Group, a joint venture involving the Saint James hospital group and Corinthia group shareholders, submitted the lowest bid at €1.74 billion. Custodia Care, led by Vassallo Group’s CareMalta alongside care home firm CareRise, bid €1.79 billion. Proxima, led by a firm owned by James Caterers, came in highest at €1.87 billion.
Price alone will not settle it. The tender is adjudicated on a best price-quality ratio, with price accounting for 20% of the evaluators’ score and technical quality the remaining 80%.
The Saint James group runs Malta’s largest private hospital group and its partner CPHCL Company Ltd is the majority shareholder of Corinthia Group owners International Hotel Investments. CareMalta, owned by the Vassallo Group, operates nine residential care homes across Malta and Gozo, while CareRise runs the Vivan care home in Gżira. The third bid comes from Malta Healthcare Caterers Ltd, owned by James Barbara and led by former Infrastructure Malta boss Frederick Azzopardi. That company already has a foothold at St Vincent de Paul through a 2017 contract to build and operate residential blocks and supply meals, a deal that drew scrutiny from the National Audit Office.
The call for tender was published in April and was originally due to expire in July, before the application period was extended to 27th October.
The winning bidder must build, staff and operate a 288-bed hospital near St Vincent de Paul in Luqa, the largest state-run elderly care home in Malta. It will cater for elderly patients who do not need acute hospital services, providing geriatric care and rehabilitation and will be called Sir Temi Zammit Hospital. The operator will run it for 27.5 years after completion and certification.
The hospital is still years away. Evaluators must assess the bids and recommend a winner, the tender must be awarded and the chosen bidder must then secure planning permission. Only once those permits are in hand do the tender’s requirements kick in. The facility must then be built and furnished within 30 months, after which the operator will source nurses, security officials, administrators, cleaners and cooks and run the hospital around the clock. The government will keep responsibility for doctors and management of the admission area.
