Three consortia bid for new hospital tender – all exceed €1.3 billion budget

Three consortia have submitted bids for a proposed new 300-bed hospital at St Vincent de Paul, all exceeding the government’s €1.3 billion budget, with the cheapest offer standing at €1.74 billion, The Shift is informed.

The tender has now closed, revealing a substantial gap between the government’s financial provision and the submitted prices. The offers range from €1.74 billion to €1.87 billion, placing even the lowest bid €440 million above budget.

Carelink Medical Group, comprising St James Hospital and a Corinthia subsidiary, submitted the lowest offer. Its €1.74 billion bid is approximately 34% above the government’s €1.3 billion allocation.

Custodia Care JV submitted the second-lowest offer, at €1.78 billion –  €480 million above budget. The consortium comprises CareMalta, part of Zaren Vassallo’s Vassallo Group, and Carerise Ltd. The latter includes CE Holding, associated with Marlon Brincat, a Labour local politician in Naxxar.

The highest offer came from Proxima JV, which bid €1.87 billion, exceeding the budget by €570 million. The consortium brings together James Caterers and Malta Healthcare, the partners already holding the concession for an extension at St Vincent de Paul.

The financial gap could present difficulties for all three bidders. It remains unclear whether the government can accommodate the higher prices within the procurement framework or how the differences will affect the award.

However, submitting the cheapest offer will not necessarily give Carelink the winning position.

Price accounts for only 20% of the final evaluation, while the technical component carries the remaining 80%. The assessment of technical qualifications and proposals will therefore play the dominant role in determining the outcome.

Sources told The Shift that the Vassallo Group consortium and the consortium involving James Caterers are considered the likeliest principal contenders.

They questioned whether the Corinthia – St James partnership could demonstrate the experience required to score competitively under the technical criteria. Corinthia, currently under financial pressure, has no experience in the sector.

The proposed facility, to be named Sir Temi Zammit Hospital, was announced as an intermediate-care hospital intended to ease pressure on Mater Dei and support rehabilitation and transitional care for older patients.

The Shift reported in April that the project’s structure envisages a private consortium financing and constructing the hospital, followed by a 27-year contract to administer and operate it on the government’s behalf.

That report put the estimated public commitment at around €44 million annually over 30 years, amounting to approximately €1.3 billion.

Crucially, the concession payments were described as separate from the cost of medical care, medicines and clinical staffing, which would remain the government’s responsibility.

If those arrangements remain unchanged, the eventual taxpayer commitment would extend beyond the successful bidder’s concession price.