This is quite challengeable in the honorable court if not tomorrow, may be some time in the future. Why public property is allowed to be used for the benefit of money making organization. They can have their own private setups.
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Anwar Ul Haque
Ministry of Health, PIMS (Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences) and IPDF (Infrastructure Project Development Facility) have decided to expedite the work on the two pilot projects. Projects include the development of Center for Liver Disease and Organ Transplant and establishment of National Institute of Dentistry.
In this regard a detailed meeting was held recently in Islamabad between Ministry of Health, PIMS & IPDF to discuss the implementation and execution of both projects on PPP (Public Private Partnership) modality.
The Center for Liver Disease and Organ Transplant will be the first such dedicated facility of its kind in Pakistan with an estimated cost of US$6.25 million. Liver diseases and mortality rates from liver failure are amongst the top causes of death in Pakistan. Currently there are no dedicated medical institutions which provide advanced treatment options to manage such diseases.
To address this dearth of medical services, the Ministry of Health and PIMS have initiated the development of the Center for Liver Disease and Organ Transplant on PPP bases in conjunction with the IPDF. The project will provide viable and sustainable liver transplant services that meet international standards and will also cover all areas of management and treatment of liver diseases. The facility will be established on PIMS premises and will have a 40 bed capacity which will be enhanced over time. The staff will comprise a team of specialists and specially trained auxiliary staff. It expected that the development of the facility will begin in 6-8 months.
National Institute of Dentistry is the other Project to be developed on PPP modality with an estimated cost PKR-500 million. The Project primarily aims at establishing a dental facility that provides state-of-the-art dental treatment at affordable rates to the patients. The facility will also serve as a teaching and research center. The ‘National Institute of Dentistry’ is proposed to be constructed on land provided by PIMS on its current facility located on main Ibn-e-Sina road, Islamabad.
It is envisaged that the facility will have the capacity to provide specialized dental treatment to patients using latest medical equipment and specialized doctors, nurses and ancillary staff. In its capacity as a teaching and research center, the facility is envisioned to train dental students and auxiliary dental staff as well as conduct short term dentistry courses and carry out research.
IPDF has called for detailed EOI (Expression of Interest) from Technical Firms to conduct detailed Feasibility Studies for both Projects. Although it is the first project in the health sector based on PPP modality it has received a tremendous response from private sector. In a short span of time Technical Feasibility Studies will be completed by consultants, IPDF will then conduct the Financial Feasibility studies and Analysis for both projects to finalize the most viable option. Later the projects would be floated in the market for the private party given a concession to build-operate and maintain the facilities for a pre-determined number of years after which the facilities will be transferred back to Ministry of Health. Regional and global experience demonstrates that PPP program in Health Sector is a great success. Such modality for Project implementation and execution in Pakistan would revitalize and restructure the health sector.
