SINGAPORE - To provide people with more lower-cost private healthcare options, the Government intends to release a plot of land for a new, private not-for-profit acute hospital in eastern Singapore, Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung announced on April 9.

This would be the first land release for a private hospital in almost two decades, should plans proceed as expected, he noted.

The proposed hospital would have a capacity for between 300 and 400 hospital beds, according to Mr Ong said, who shared this at an event marking the 65th anniversary of Mount Alvernia Hospital – currently the Republic’s only not-for-profit private acute hospital.

The authorities aim to arrive at a decision on the tender in the second half of 2026, Mr Ong said.

His announcement comes after the Health Ministry in 2024 said it aimed to introduce a new not-for-profit private acute hospital model, aimed at increasing Singapore’s hospital bed capacity.

The move aims to address rising demand for healthcare services due to the country’s ageing population, MOH said then.

Mr Ong said in 2024 that the model will be singularly licensed – meaning each hospital will be issued its own healthcare licence – to enhance governance.

The authorities aim to stipulate certain requirements in the tender documents so as to ensure lower costs, Mr Ong said on April 9.

“The first is bill size restrictions, so that the hospital bills are a certain percentile of the market, and cannot lead the market,” he noted.

The second stipulation meanwhile would be to adopt a fixed-price land tender approach, he added.

“Under such a model, bidders w...