Super speciality hospitals chain Apollo is keen to set up one under public-private partnership mode in the city.

The health department recently invited private players to set up a hospital on a seven-acre plot belonging to Jaiprabha Hospital and initiated global competitive bidding. It also uploaded details on its website, www.health.bih.nic.in, on December 13. Sources said Apollo has evinced interest.

International Finance Corporation (IFC), an international finance institution and World Bank member, issued tender for the project. A senior IFC official said: 'Yes, Apollo has shown interest. We have received a demand draft from Apollo Group for tender documents. Once the tender process is completed, we would consult the state government before finalising it. This could take two months.'

Health department sources said a 500-bed super-speciality hospital would come up on Jaiprabha Hospital's 7-acre plot. 'The private player would be asked to develop the hospital while the state government would provide assistance. The private player would be asked to provide treatment at central government health scheme rates,' said a health department official.

Sunil Kumar Singh, vice-president of the Indian Medical Association's state chapter, said: 'Big private players coming would be a milestone. '

Some, however, criticised the decision.

'The government sets certain norms in such projects. They ask private players to provide subsidised treatment and reserve some beds for patients from lower economical strata. But big private hospitals fail to abide by the norms. There should be some monitoring from the government,' paediatrician A.K. Thakur, former president of state chapter of IMA, said.