The Health Ministry will be announcing a tender for the purchase of three floating me-dical facilities that will serve victims in times of natural disasters, according to a recent statement from Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu.
The Health Minister said they will open a tender in January 2014 for the three ships, noting that there was no other country in the world with such medical facilities. “Even the US doesn’t have anything like this. They have an oil tanker that was transformed into a hospital. I have seen it. It is different to transform a vessel into a hospital than building a hospital ship as a project. Ours will be the only such hospital ship in the world.”
Tender price around
150 million dollars
He said the ships will be constructed to serve in post-disaster situations, such as after an earthquake. He also said the hospital ships will be large tonnage vessels designed to travel in oceans.
Muezzinoglu estimated the tender amount at 150 million dollars, but noted that a clear figure will emerge only after the tender is held. “We estimate the project to cost around 150 million dollars but the project tender has not yet been completed.” He said the ships could be operated under a lease contract, possibly as part of a public-private sector partnership.
According to Muezzinoglu, the floating medical facilities will have a total of 15,000 square-meter usable area and they will serve as 200-bed hospitals, having 17 clinics. The ships will also have 15 visiting rooms, 15 observation rooms as well as eight surgery rooms and two resuscitation units.
