Infrastructure Kerala Limited (Inkel) will execute three projects for the Health Department, of which Cochin Cancer Research Centre will be the major project.
Rajeev Sadanandan, Additional Secretary (Health), told The Hindu that Inkel had been asked to take up the upcoming infrastructure development works in the Government Medical College, Ernakulam, and the superspecialty block in the District General Hospital.
The agency has been asked to set up a special project implementation office. On designating Inkel as the special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the cancer centre, Mr. Sadanandan said the funding rules of the Kerala Investment Infrastructure Fund Board (KIIFB) specified an SPV, which was an agency that would work on behalf of the government.
The government took the decision to award the work to the agency that could be directly supervised by the State Health Department, he said.
The government had also decided not to award the implementation of the project to the same agency that had created the detailed project report to avoid confusions over project estimates, he said.
The implementation of the three projects would create a viable alternative of cost-effective treatment facilities for the poor in the district.
Bringing in Inkel as an implementation agency of the cancer centre project had attracted criticism.
Hibi Eden, MLA, had alleged that there was a conspiracy behind making Inkel a special purpose vehicle for the cancer centre.
