Panaji: The tender for construction of a super specialty block at Goa Medical College (GMC) and Hospital has been given to the lowest bidder by the Goa Government. The bidder allocated the job of building the SS block-Rama Civil India Construction Pvt Ltd has been granted the quoted amount of Rs 249 crore.

Health Minister, Vishwajit Rane’s speaking about the project said that his long-pursued project had been pending for the last three years. The main reason for the delay was that the allocated land which lay within the college premises had been encroached upon.

The project is to be constructed under the Prime Minister Swashtya Seva Yojna (PMSSY)-III and will be built on 5,000 sqm of land. There are plans to shift the existing super specialties of the government-run hospital to the new block.

A few new additions, including the liver transplant facility, will also be made in the new structure, a GMC official said.

The shift of super specialties to the new building would create room for other departments, which are presently facing a shortage of beds, added the official.

The GMC premises will also house a regional cancer center, another project of the union government, reports TOI.