Vijayawada: The state government is considering a limited extension of the tender deadline for establishing three medical colleges under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model after failing to attract bids, health minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav said on Monday.

Addressing a press conference after the AP NDA alliance Cabinet meeting, the minister said that while tenders were invited for medical colleges at Adoni, Markapuram, Madanapalle and Pulivendula, only one bid was received, and that too solely for the Adoni project. “Since no bids came for the remaining three colleges, we are in talks with interested investors and are considering a slight extension of the deadline,” he said.

Satya Kumar explained that several potential bidders who attended pre-bid meetings had sought more time, citing procedural issues linked to approvals from the National Medical Commission (NMC).

The NMC application window, he said, was expected to open around December 20 but is now scheduled to open on December 29, leaving a narrow timeframe to complete the tender and regulatory process before January 28.

“Given these constraints, we initially declined an extension, but following renewed interest from investors, the matter is under active consideration,” he said.

The minister said that the single bid for Adoni PPP medial college was submitted by a high net-worth individual, Dr. Rajkumar Premkumar Shah, and added that such bids were permissible under existing norms. Responding to pointed questions from reporters on how the government could move ahead with an agreement when there was only a single bidder, the health minister made it clear that the government was not inclined to stall the project on procedural rigidity. “If we keep looking at all these things and counting every single detail, it will not work. Our priority is to provide quality medical education and better medical services,” he said, defending the decision to consider an agreement based on a lone bid.

The health minister also launched a political counterattack on former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, accusing him of attempting to create fear among investors. “No one is afraid of Jagan Mohan Reddy. Even during his five-year rule, despite reverse tendering and other pressures, investors did not back out. Today, Andhra Pradesh is attracting massive investments,” Satya Kumar said, dismissing opposition criticism of the PPP model.