SINGAPORE - NTUC Health Co-operative has been appointed the operator for two nursing homes under a scheme to provide affordable aged care by the Ministry of Health (MOH).

This is the first time two nursing homes under the Build-Own-Lease scheme were bundled together in a request for proposal.

The two homes at Geylang East Central and Chai Chee Street are part of MOH's plan to build 19 nursing homes by 2020.

MOH received 11 bids in response to its request for proposal in August last year. Operators would also need to operate senior care centres within the nursing homes and home care services out of the nursing homes.

"The aim of bundling the two nursing homes is to also nurture the growth of larger players who are able to provide a comprehensive range of services that will support seniors across the various care settings, including those who are able to transit home from the nursing home," MOH said in a statement on Friday.

It added that the two homes were bundled as they were both in the east.

Construction at the 236-bed nursing home at Geylang East Central is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2017. The 342-bed nursing home at Chai Chee Street is expected to be built by the end of next year.

Under the Build-Own-Lease scheme first mooted in 2012, the MOH bears the cost of building the facilities but tenders out the operating rights to service providers.

NTUC Health is also the operator of a nursing home under this scheme in Jurong West, due to open later this year.

MOH said it is on track to develop 17,000 nursing home beds, 6,200 senior day care centre places and 10,000 home care places by 2020.