Mumbai News: Construction Of JJ hospital’s Super-speciality Building Gets 18-month Extension

Contractor given extension despite completing only 29% of the work, changing contractors will only further delay

The new medical education minister, Hasan Muahrif, has granted an 18-month extension to the contractor responsible for the construction of the super-speciality building of Sir Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy (JJ) Hospital. Despite the contractor failing to meet the initial deadline and completing only 29% of the work, a revised deadline has been set for March 30, 2025.

An official explained that the extension was granted to avoid further delays in constructing the 10-storey building, which would have been inevitable if the contractor was replaced. A senior officer from the Public Works Department (PWD) revealed that the previous medical education minister, Girish Mahajan, had almost lost the contract due to delay in work.

The contractor clarified that the work had been hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic but they never gave any excuses that would lead to the cancellation of the contract. He added, “We have given genuine reasons for the delay due to which the extension has been given.”

Currently, the hospital has 1,200 beds, and once the new 10-storey building is completed, the number of beds will double, making it one of the largest state-run hospitals in Mumbai. The foundation work of the building is nearly finished, despite initial obstacles such as obtaining tree-cutting permissions and carrying out piling work. The slabs of four floors have been casted and brickwork has commenced. “Getting a new contractor at this juncture would have delayed the project further as the present one knows what needs to be done,” said another official.

The contractor had earlier requested for an extension until 2026, which was rejected. The construction of the super-speciality hospital was planned in 2010 and gained momentum under the then chief secretary Ratnakar Gaikwad. The project received all necessary approvals when the Bharatiya Janata Party government assumed power in 2014, with Girish Mahajan serving as the medical education minister. The bhoomipoojan ceremony took place in 2019, and the work order was issued in July 2020, with the contractor given a deadline of 36 months. The project, valued at Rs778.65 crore, will include a VVIP ward along with departments for cardiovascular, neurosurgery, paediatrics, urology, gastroenterology, surgical oncology, neurology, endocrinology, nephrology, chest and pulmonary diseases, pharmacology, haematology, rheumatology, medical oncology.