Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) has floated a Rs 126-crore tender to engage a private company for developing infrastructure at the institution.

IGIMS officials said in the first phase of the plan, a five-storeyed medical college with new administrative building, library, hostel for boys and residential quarters for teachers would be constructed on the 120-acre sprawling campus.

Around 12 national companies attended a pre-bid meeting before making their intention clear for the mega project, said a source. The project would be awarded to the most competitive bidder by mid-September and the work is expected to begin by October.

The Medical Council of India gave the health cradle permission to start a 100-seat medical college last year.

The second batch has started to take admission this year. While 80 students have joined the IGIMS through the Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination, 20 more would be selected from those who have cleared the CBSE All-India Pre-Medical Test. The counselling process is underway at present.

But the infrastructure at the IGIMS leaves much to be desired.

IGIMS director Dr Arun Kumar said: “The medical college is currently operating from a building on the campus, which is a temporary arrangement. The college does not have sufficient number of lecture halls and other facilities. If a new batch starts, there are bound to be problems. We have begun the process of engaging a firm to prepare infrastructure in phases.”

Sources said the male students are likely to suffer more as all the rooms in the hostel for them are full. “The hostel for male students has 60 seats. It is already filled with students from the previous year,” said a source.

The 100-seat girls’ hostel still has vacancies. So, constructing a new hostel for girl students is not a part of the first phase of the project. To sort out the problem of students’ accommodation, the college authorities have written to the health department to rent out the vacant Family Welfare Institution Hostel, adjacent to IGIMS.

If the plan does not work out, the students would have to put up in private lodges outside the college campus. “We want to rent the hostel for two years till our students’ accommodation is ready. From the time of awarding the project, it will take about 20 months to complete it,” Kumar said.

The state government has approved a Rs 560-crore proposal to upgrade the IGIMS. But funds fro the same would be released in phases and would take some time before the project is completed.