By Sami Zaptia.
Tripoli, 1 August 2013:
At yesterday’s press conference, Health Minister Nuredine Doughman admitted that some of Libya’s hospitals “were not . . .[restrict]fit for use by human beings”.
Doughman, defending the awarding of a contract to the British company the International Hospital Group (IHG) said that these unfit hospitals would not be reformed even if “millions were invested in them”. He felt Libya needed to build new hospitals.
The Health Minister revealed that the contract IHG included an option to expand it to cover 12 hospitals, without giving further details. He did not reveal the value of the contract.
Doughman said that Libya could not at this present time afford the budgets to build 9-12 hospitals. However, IHG had stepped in and offered to finance, build and operate these hospitals – with a guarantee from the British and Libyan governments.
They had offered to operate the hospitals for 6 months and Libya could pay for the hospitals after 10-14 years.
Regarding the standing of the company, IHG, Doughman read out a letter he had received recommending the company from the British government.
Libya Herald had revealed back in June that British company IHG had signed a contract estimated at LD 2 bn for the building of 9 hospitals all over Libya.
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