Invitations to tender for more projects aimed at improving the healthcare infrastructure in the Virgin Islands will be released soon. Photo: Internet Source

The deadline for tenders from eligible and qualified Tenderers for the design and installation of Generator Connectivity at the Dr D. Orlando Smith Hospital through the RDA is September 5, 2025. Photo: Internet Source

Minister for Health and Social Development, Hon Vincent O. Wheatley (R9) said the government will invest about $2 million in the healthcare infrastructure over the next twenty-four months. Photo: Facebook

The project for the oxygen generation plant at the Dr D Orlando Smith Hospital is in the finishing stages. Photo: GIS

Speaking exclusively to Virgin Islands News Online (VINO) this morning, Thursday, July 31, 2025, Minister for Health and Social Development, Hon Vincent O. Wheatley (R9) said the government will invest about $2 million in the healthcare infrastructure over the next twenty-four months.  

Tenders for generator connectivity

On July 30, 2025, the Recovery and Development Agency (RDA) put out a notice inviting tenders from eligible and qualified Tenderers for the design and installation of Generator Connectivity at the Dr D. Orlando Smith Hospital. 

This project will be funded through the 100-million-dollar loan facility acquired by the government last year. 

The old and new hospitals, the minister explained, will be connected to the generator system through this project. 

According to the tender notice, the procurement method will be conducted through the National (Domestic) Competitive Bidding (NCB) process.

Hon Wheatley encouraged all eligible tenderers to put in a bid. “It is a competitive process; it must go out to open tender. Persons with the most sensible bid will get the job, not necessarily the lowest bid, but the bid that makes sense.”

He said the most competent and reliable person is wanted to do the work. 

A Bidder’s Conference and Site Visit is proposed to be held at Dr D. Orlando Smith Hospital on Monday, August 18, 2025, at 10:00 AM.

More tenders to come 

The RDA was established to implement the Government’s recovery plan following the devastating effects of Hurricane Irma in 2017. 

“You’re going to see a lot more tenders coming for a lot more stuff. This is just one of maybe seven you will see in the next few weeks,” the Health Minister revealed.

These upcoming projects include the sealing of the roof, the placement of signs, and the painting of the structure, among other things. 

The deadline for submission of tenders for the design and installation of the Generator Connectivity is Friday, September 5, 2025, at 10:00 AM.

Satisfied with the work, not the pace

Hon Wheatley told VINO that he is very satisfied with the quality of work being done through the RDA, but not the pace, as “it has taken too long”. 

He said, “The RDA is very meticulous in how they do stuff, so it’s not about how quickly, but the quality that they want to do.”

Meanwhile, the project for the oxygen generation plant at the hospital is in the finishing stages. 

That project, funded under a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar grant, supported by Direct Relief, was secured under the Enhancing Health Infrastructure and Resilience Project (EHIR). 

He revealed that the oxygen project at the hospital is “almost finished”

That project, facilitated by the RDA, was estimated to have been completed in April 2025.