Recently, a bidding project with a total investment of 827 million yuan (RMB) at the Xiangya Second Hospital in Hunan Province has come under widespread scrutiny. The top six candidates in the initial public announcement were all eliminated, and the Hunan Fourth Engineering Co., Ltd., originally ranked eighth with qualification issues, won the bid leading to complaints from several bidding units. Under public pressure, the authorities in Hunan recently set up a joint investigation team.
On June 5, The Paper reported that abnormalities were found in the bidding process for the construction of the National Emergency Medical Rescue Base at Xiangya Second Hospital, with the eighth-ranked candidate winning the bid. The main construction content of this project includes facilities for mass casualty treatment, training exercises, material storage, and other emergency medical rescue-related facilities. The total estimated investment for the project is around 827 million yuan.
According to reports, bidding for the project began in May 2025. On October 30 of the same year, the first round of bid candidates was announced, with six candidates, including Hebei Construction Group Co., Ltd., China Railway 11th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. (jointly with Jiangxi Zhonghai Marine Assembly Construction Technology Co., Ltd.), and China Construction Science & Industry Corporation.
On December 11, the results of the second round of bid candidates were announced, with all top 6 candidates from the first round being replaced. The second round bid winners were Shanghai Baoye Group Co., Ltd., Hunan Fourth Engineering Co., Ltd. (jointly with Jiangsu Hoton Energy Saving Technology Co., Ltd.), and China Railway 12th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. (jointly with Huanxin Construction Group Co., Ltd.).
However, several companies participating in the bidding process told The Paper that there was no actual re-bidding, and the results from the second public announcement of bidding were directly used. These bidding companies protested and reported to the relevant authorities.
On March 17 of this year, the Changsha Public Trading Resource Center issued another announcement for the project, which was already at the contract stage. The contract information revealed that the winning unit was “Hunan Fourth Engineering Co., Ltd.” The contract was signed on March 17, 2026, with a duration of “913 days”.
The unexpected victory of the eighth-ranked candidate raised questions from many bidding companies, leading to multiple companies lodging complaints with the supervisory authorities, although no responses were received from these departments.
Not only were there procedural issues, but the qualifications of the winning company were also questioned. The Paper learned that during the bidding period, Hunan Gujian was penalized for engineering quality issues and publicly disclosed for misconduct among the first batch of construction market entities in Hunan province.
The Xiangya Second Hospital, Changsha City Bidding Center, and Changsha City Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, among other relevant entities, have not responded to the allegations.
This incident has sparked public scrutiny, leading the authorities in Hunan to establish an investigation team.
According to a report by the official Chinese media Xinhua News Agency on June 6, in response to the reported issues in the bidding process for the “National Emergency Medical Rescue Base Construction Project” at Xiangya Second Hospital, the Hunan Provincial Party Committee and Government have set up a joint investigation team led by the Hunan Provincial Development and Reform Commission, together with the Hunan Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Hunan Public Resource Trading Center, and relevant departments in Changsha City to investigate the situation, with the investigation results to be promptly made public.