Government to guarantee loans for construction of Rijeka Hospital

At its session on Thursday, the government adopted a decision to issue a guarantee for the Rijeka Hospital to take out loans from commercial banks in the amount of HRK 750 million to finance the construction of a new hospital wing which would not be part of a public-private partnership agreement.

The new wing will house the children's hospital, a gynaecology and obstetrics ward, and a multi-storey car park, and they will built based on a public works contract pursuant to the Public Procurement Act.

The final goal is to integrate all sections of the Rijeka Hospital at one location. The value of the project, which officially started with the signing of a JPP project in late 2013, is HRK 3.2 billion.

Health Minister Sinisa Varga said that the "hospital is operating in inadequate conditions for modern medicine. Promises have been made for decades that a new hospital will be built and now it will become a reality. The Rijeka Hospital is advertising the tender already tomorrow and the construction site should be opened in the autumn," Varga told reporters after the government session on Thursday.

The funds for the government's decision are accounted for in the 2015 State Budget and in forecasts for 2016 and 2017 at HRK 5 million each year, while the Health Ministry will account for the remainder of HRK 749 million as of 2018. 

(Text: Hina)

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