Premier: Presov Hospital Construction Will Continue and Will Be Completed
Presov, 26 May (TASR) - The construction of the new hospital in Presov will continue and will be completed, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated on Tuesday after inspecting the construction site, adding that the hospital will be completed in August 2027 and could begin a trial run in March 2028.
The premier also announced that starting as of 1 June, a new consortium called 'Team Slovakia' will take over the construction of the hospital. Fico described the defects that have appeared on the construction site as standard technical issues, and, according to him, they will be corrected "on the spot". He added that the construction work will be delayed by only a few weeks or months.
"It will be one of the most modern hospitals in Slovakia, and this hospital will be completed," said Fico, praising the work of the construction supervisor, who, according to him, promptly pointed to problems with pouring the concrete for some of the columns.
The 'Team Slovakia' consortium - consisting of In Vest, Skanska, Strabag, Metrostav, and Hornex - is ready to take over the construction project as of 1 June. According to the prime minister, they are major construction firms operating in Slovakia, although procedural issues will still need to be resolved before work begins. "In August 2027 - that is, in one year and three months - the entire building will be standing. Starting in August, medical equipment will be delivered, and interior furnishing and other work will be carried out. But realistically, as we promised, we'll build the hospital before the end of the electoral term. It could be handed over for the trial run sometime in March 2028," added Fico.
Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) stated that the supervision of construction didn't fail, adding that the problematic columns on the site, which cannot be repaired, will be removed and replaced with new ones, while the rest will be repaired. According to him, the Defence Ministry has already accessed the original contractor's bank guarantee and will seek compensation for all damages incurred. "But we've suspended several invoices worth several million euros. For now, we're trying to negotiate and avoid disputes, and to explain how serious these errors are. As a result, we'll certainly want to settle this matter out of court and also recover all damages," he added. According to Kalinak, the total cost of the project is currently estimated at approximately €540 million.
At the end of April, Kalinak announced that the Defence Ministry had suspended the construction of the military hospital in Presov, with the reason being a quality inspection of the work performed on the building's load-bearing elements. Last year, the Defence Ministry signed a contract for developing and modernising the university hospital and polyclinic in Presov worth €447.8 million, ex-VAT. The contractor is a group of suppliers represented by Bekor. The new hospital is intended to have a capacity of 1,009 beds, with the potential for full-scale expansion to 1,200 beds. The project is being implemented as a strategic investment.
