Each of the three projects is a first in its own way and will create new jobs for construction firms and manufacturers of construction materials, according to BUSINESS CONSTRUCT magazine.
While the networks of private medical operators have extended significantly in the past few years, since the opening of the Euroclinic hospital in northern Bucharest in 2005, the state had made no openings and no investments in medical infrastructure.
Private operators now have 11 large or medium-sized hospitals in Bucharest, a city with around 70 hospitals in total and where the public sector has lost quite a lot of ground in the past few years.
Almost all private investments were conducted between 2005 and 2012, with no major new project finalized this year. One exception could be the OncoFort hospital finalized by Gral Medical close to Alba Iulia place in Bucharest.
Considering that the three new investments conducted in the public sector have emerged during a “quiet” time for the private sector and the value of these projects exceeds 350 million lei (EUR80 million) , one can say the tables have turned and that now the state is the one coming up with the money.
In March this year, it set off the construction of a new building next to the Foisor hospital, a project estimated at 142 million lei (EUR32 million) which should be completed within a year and nine months at the most. This is the first public hospital to be built in Bucharest since the fall of communism. The project is carried out by the Bucharest City Hall.
The municipality manages 19 hospitals, which it received under management in 2008 as part of a pilot project (which was then extended countrywide in 2010, while several tens of hospitals remained with the Health Ministry.
According to the latest information, the new building of the Foisor hospital was 30% completed this summer and, when finalized, it will have a total area of 17,000 square meters (from 4,000 sq m currently) and eight operating rooms (from five at present). Neither the City Hall nor the ministry had provided details on the evolution of the projects by deadline.
The project is built by a consortium made up of Conteam, Aedificia Carpati, Consstar Construct and Eyecon Medical. The leader of the consortium is Conteam SRL, which last year had turnover of EUR7.2 million with 188 employees. According to Mediafax agency, the current Foisor hospital had 9,000 inpatients per year and 10,000 outpatients.
Rotary builds new Gomoiu children’s hospital
By the time the new Foisor hospital was around 30% completed, work started on a second building of the Victor Gomoiu children’s hospital, a RON170 million investment (VAT-less).
Gomoiu is the oldest children’s hospital in Bucharest. The new building is developed by the Bucharest City Hall and built by Rotary Constructii, which had worked on modernizing another hospital for five years before that.
Gomoiu is one of three children’s hospitals in Bucharest. Plans of the City Hall are for the new Gomoiu hospital to be able to perform heart and brain surgery on children. The hospital is set to become the first university children’s hospital in Romania. The hospital’s old building will be consolidated and rehabilitated, and is set to be linked to the new building by means of a glass walkway. The investment will double the overall number of beds and of employees at the hospital.
In July 2014 a new cardiovascular surgery clinic should start operating within Children’s Emergency Clinical Hospital Grigore Alexandrescu close to Piata Victoriei place. The investment is RON72 million (VAT included).
According to the press office within Bucharest’s District 1 City Hall (which manages the hospital), this will be the largest clinic of its kind in South-Eastern Europe. Work started on building the clinic back in July 2011.
A first stage (the construction of the building) was ready this summer and the next step is to equip the clinic. Funding will come from the City Hall and the Health Ministry.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)