Tenders Are Invited For Provision Of Operation And Maintenance Services Of Oxygen Psa Plants

Tenders are invited for Provision of Operation and Maintenance Services of Oxygen PSA Plants in Rwanda Hospitals. Location: KIGALI Deadline: Wednesday, 30/09/2026 10:00 1. INTRODUCTION Medical oxygen is an essential medicine for which there are no alternatives. It is required to treat chronic and acute conditions and to conduct safe surgeries and oxygen is included on the World Health Organization (WHO) list of Essential Medicines. In Rwanda, it is designated by the Ministry of Health (MOH) of Rwanda as an essential inhalation medicine. The public supply of medical oxygen should be sustained and reach all those in need. Due to Government of Rwanda (GOR) investments, 28 of 55 public health facilities currently have one or more oxygen production plants on site. Overall, these plants combined have a maximum oxygen production capacity of 20,300,000 L per day or approximately 406,000 cylinders (50L) per month. Recent investments by the GOR and its partners have increased the oxygen production capacity of public hospitals and most of public health facilities are equipped with medical gas piping systems for easy and safe delivery of medical oxygen to the bedside. Although a remarkable progress, there are still some barriers to be addressed; in the production, and distribution including the PSA plants maintenance. The GoR, through the Ministry of Health (MoH), Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), Clinton Heath Access Initiative (CHAI) and Rwanda Medical Supply (RMS), intends to establish a Partnership under an OperateMaintainReplace (OMR) model to ensure sustainable, equitable, and reliable access to medical oxygen across public health facilities in Rwanda. The partnership will leverage the existing national network of PSA oxygen plants distributed across public hospitals and associated health facilities. The selected contractor(s) shall assume responsibility for operation, maintenance, distribution, lifecycle management, and replacement of designated oxygen production assets while ownership of the assets remains with the GOR. This TOR provides a framework to guide the contractor(s) in the respective scopes of work to ensure continued and reliable access to oxygen. The Competitive Dialogue process is being undertaken with selected supplier(s) to refine the final technical, operational, commercial, legal, and contractual structure before issuing the final tender and contract award.. 2. Objective of the Competitive Dialogue The objective of the Competitive Dialogue is to engage oxygen PSA plants suppliers in structured discussions to refine and optimize the proposed model and support the development of a bankable, sustainable, and performance-based procurement structure. Specifically, the dialogue aims to: Validate the operational feasibility of the OMR model; Determine optimal lot configuration and hub allocation arrangements; Define efficient oxygen production and distribution models; Establish sustainable operation, maintenance and asset replacement mechanisms; Define measurable service levels and key performance indicators (KPIs); Establish surge preparedness and emergency response mechanisms; Ensure affordability, value for money, and long-term sustainability; Finalize the contractual and payment framework. 3. SCOPE OF PROCUREMENT 3.1 Operation of PSA Oxygen Plants The operator shall: Operate designated PSA oxygen plants and associated infrastructure; Optimize PSA plants placement across the network Ensure continuous oxygen production in accordance with required purity and quality standards.; Manage plant staffing, operational scheduling, utilities coordination, and production planning; Plan the demand and supply of medical oxygen its designated areas Ensure compliance with all applicable health, environmental, and safety regulations. Operator shall have the minimum national oxygen reserve stock and filled backup cylinders 3.2 Maintenance and Asset Management The operator shall: Conduct preventive, corrective, and emergency maintenance for all assigned equipment; Maintain PSA plants in accordance with manufacturer standards and specifications; Ensure availability of spare parts and consumables; Develop and implement lifecycle management plans for all assigned assets; Replace end-of-life equipment and major components in accordance with agreed contractual requirements; Maintain accurate maintenance logs and asset registers. The operator shall return all government-owned assets in good operating condition, subject to independent technical verification 3.3 Oxygen Distribution Services The operator shall: Manage end-to-end oxygen distribution through the designated hub-and-spoke network; Invest in cylinders, filling equipment, and distribution fleet (All sizes of oxygen cylinders, trucks, trolleys,) Ensure timely refill and delivery of oxygen cylinders to all assigned health facilities up to primary health level facilities including ambulances. Optimize transport routes and delivery schedules; Maintain adequate cylinder tracking and inventory management systems; Ensure uninterrupted supply within the agreed service coverage area. 3.4 Quality Assurance and Regulatory Compliance The operator shall: Ensure oxygen purity meets applicable medical standards; Maintain calibration and testing systems for quality verification for both PSAs and cylinders; Comply with Rwanda FDA, MoH, RBC, and other applicable regulatory requirements; Establish quality assurance protocols and incident reporting mechanisms. 3.5 Risk Mitigation for Emergency Preparedness The contingency framework will include two levels of reserve oxygen stock. First, each PSA plant operator shall maintain a minimum reserve equivalent to 100 cylinders of oxygen at each lot. By design, the contractor will maintain a reasonable number of competing PSA plant operators to promote supply security, operational resilience, and market stability. No merger or monopoly arrangement shall be permitted under this framework, and no single oxygen PSA operator shall supply more than 35% of the national public-sector medical oxygen demand. The contractor will also require mandatory performance bond arrangements throughout the contractual period. This mechanism will protect both the GOR and the PSA plant operators while promoting sustainable and reliable medical oxygen supply through a partnership model based on mutual accountability and shared benefits. Operators shall maintain adequate stocks of preventive and corrective maintenance spare parts, as well as emergency cylinder filling and backup supply mechanisms. Considering the lifespan and replacement schedules of critical equipment and components, operators will be required to plan and execute maintenance and replacement activities proactively to avoid any interruption in medical oxygen supply. While optimization is a primary objective, any relocation, consolidation, or repurposing of PSA plants shall be carefully assessed and justified based on the availability of adequate and reliable alternative sources of medical oxygen supply. No movement of PSA infrastructure shall occur without comprehensive contingency planning, formal risk assessment, and mutual agreement with the designated representative of the GoR. 3.6 Financing Cover all needed CAPEX to run the network including but not cylinders, distribution trucks, relocating PSAs, replacing PSA, supply chain management tools Cover all operational costs needed to operate the production including but not limited to staffing, maintenance and repair of equipment, power supply, and other utilities, administrative and office costs. Revenue will be recovered from supplying oxygen to health facilities per cubic meter Oxygen will be delivered on standardized tariff per cubic meter delivered to health facility 4. Key Discussion Areas During Competitive Dialogue The Competitive Dialogue process will focus on the following areas: 4.1 Technical and Operational Structure Hub allocation and lot structure; Management of co-located PSA facilities; Production optimization strategies; Fleet and cylinder management systems; Transition arrangements from current operational structures. 4.2 Commercial and Financial Structure Payment mechanisms; Output-based financing arrangements; Tariff structure and affordability considerations; Asset replacement financing mechanisms; Revenue sustainability and commercial viability. 4.3 Contractual and Risk Allocation Allocation of operational, maintenance, and demand risks; Force majeure and emergency response obligations; Performance guarantees and penalties; Contract duration and renewal provisions. 4.4 Performance Management The dialogue shall define KPIs including but not limited to: Plant uptime; Asset condition score Oxygen purity compliance; Delivery lead times; Order fulfillment rates; Stock out days per facility Cylinder turnaround time Reporting compliance Safety incident rate Maintenance response times; Emergency response readiness Strategic stock level (days of cover) Spare part stock availability 5. Deliverables Expected from Bidders Shortlisted bidders participating in the dialogue process shall be expected to provide: Initial technical and operational proposals; Proposed lot allocation and hub management approach; Proposed maintenance and lifecycle management strategy; Proposed distribution and logistics model; Proposed staffing and technical support arrangements; Preliminary commercial and financial model to the different cost centers; Risk allocation recommendations; Proposed service level agreements and KPIs; Emergency preparedness and business continuity plans; Recommendations for contract structure and implementation arrangements. 6. Eligibility requirements Interested bidders are required to submit the following documents: A letter addressed to Rwanda Medical Sup Tender Link : https://www.jobinrwanda.com/job/tender-notice-provision-operation-and-maintenance-services-oxygen-psa-plants-rwanda-hospitals