Pierluisi announces start of bidding process to rebuild hospital in Vieques
Nearly four years after losing its only hospital to the destruction caused by Hurricane María, the bidding process to rebuild the Vieques medical facility is officially underway.
Gov. Pedro Pierluisi announced the start of the bid for architectural/engineering services for the conceptual drawings for the Susana Centeno Hospital in Vieques. He said $1 million has been assigned to “begin work immediately and the conceptual design is the first step for us to have a hospital in Vieques.”
The Infrastructure Financing Authority will accept the proposals for the open bid (AFI-BP-21-049) through April 29 at 4 p.m. The auction documents require a $100 payment, which can be made via PayPal.
A virtual pre-auction meeting will take place May 3, and the winning proposal will be announced May 21, according to the agency’s documents.
“Our people in Vieques deserve a hospital that responds to emergencies 24 hours a day and that can provide the medical services they need,” Pierluisi said.
“I made a commitment to the people of Vieques that as governor I would address the problems that afflict them with a sense of urgency. The construction of this hospital is among the priority projects of my administration because I recognize how necessary it is for the residents of [Vieques],” he said.
The Susana Centeno Hospital in Vieques is the only medical facility that residents have on the island municipality. The absence of an emergency room has meant hardship for the ill, who have had to go find a way to travel to the main island of Puerto Rico for treatment.
In January 2020, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced it had allocated more than $39.5 million in funds to restore the facility, as this media outlet reported.
