THE construction of the long-abandoned Long Napir Clinic needs to be re-tendered as the previous tender price exceeded the project cost ceiling of RM7.3 million.
Deputy Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government Michael Tiang Ming Tee said the re-tender process will be carried out by the Sarawak Public Works Department (PWD) after new Preliminary Detailed Abstract (PDA) from the PWD is submitted to the federal Ministry of Health (MoH).
“The project was re-tendered in February 2020. However, the tender process was not successful because the contractor’s price was higher than the ceiling cost.
“The Federal Tender Procurement Board decided on November 29, 2021 that a second re-tender exercise be carried out to enable the project to proceed,” he said in reply to Batu Danau assemblyman Paulus Palu Gumbang during question time today.
He added that the PDA was submitted to the MoH in March 2022.
However, after a site visit in March 2023, MoH requested that Sarawak PWD re-submit a new estimation cost and PDA.
As such, he said the second re-tender process will only be carried out after obtaining approval from the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department.
On the same note, he asserted that the project components include a type 6 clinic building that can cater for 50 to 100 patients and an eight-class residential unit.
“There will be 10 staff: one medical officer, one pharmacy assistant officer, two medical assistant officers, four nurses, one community nurse, and one driver,” he said.
Tiang further noted that the Long Napir Health Clinic serves a total population of 296 people from two longhouses.
