Islamabad’s Capital Development Authority (CDA) is planning to modernise its healthcare delivery model through a public-private partnership (PPP), a senior official told Infralogic.

The CDA, which provides municipal services to the residents of Pakistan’s Islamabad Capital Territory, recognises that the provision of healthcare is not a core function and intends to bring in a private operator to redevelop and manage the Capital Hospital and seven satellite clinics, CDA Director-PPP & JV, Shareef Hussain said.

The Asian Development Bank is the transaction advisor for the project, he said, adding that the CDA aims to seek request for proposals in March and tie up the procurement process by the end of the year. It intends for the 40-year concession to start in January next year.

The project will involve the redevelopment of the existing Capital Hospital and the integration of its seven satellite clinics into a unified healthcare network.

The facilities currently cater primarily to CDA employees and their families, and the transition aims to expand services to the public at large.

The Capital Hospital is spread across approximately 3.5 acres and has a capacity of 416 beds, of which 300 are operational, said Hussain.

The winning bidder will need to expand this to 600-700 beds, targeting a fully functional tertiary-care hospital in compliance with applicable laws and Joint Commission International Standards, alongside community-based primary and secondary care services through the satellite clinics.

The 40-year concession will be offered as a design, build, finance, operate, maintain and transfer (DBFOMT) contract to the bidder offering the highest revenue share, said Muhammad Danish, head of projects at the federal PPP Authority.

The CDA will offer insurance coverage to its employees and their families, allowing the private operator to charge market rates for all beds, eliminating the need to provide subsidies, said Danish. The CDA and the Asian Development Bank studied healthcare delivery models in other countries, including India, to arrive at this model, he added.

One of Pakistan’s oldest civic organisations, the CDA has usually taken the traditional engineering, procurement and construction approach to build infrastructure. It was brought under the administrative control of the Ministry of Interior in 2018.

Established in 1960, it has developed and maintains Pakistan’s capital city and its surrounding areas. It has constructed government buildings, parks and residential areas, transportation, water supply and sewage systems.