The country will move forward with the construction of the Algarve Central Hospital, a project long announced and successively postponed, now approved by the Council of Ministers. The Government’s decision involves an investment of more than 420 million euros and relaunches structural work for the Algarve region, with a direct impact on the National Health Service.
According to the ECO news portal, the construction of the new hospital was approved by the Council of Ministers, being developed under a public-private partnership regime. The total burden for the State, over 26 years, is expected to reach 1,100 million euros, already including financial costs associated with the model adopted.
According to the same source, the value directly associated with the work exceeds 420 million euros, and these figures were presented by the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, at the press conference after the Executive meeting.
The government’s political announcement and tone
On the same occasion, António Leitão Amaro classified the decision as a landmark moment, highlighting the political symbolism of the approval. “After 20 years, after eight first stones, the construction of the Algarve Central Hospital was finally approved”, he stated, in a statement cited by the same publication
The announcement had already been anticipated in Parliament by the Prime Minister, signaling that the Government intended to close an old and recurring dossier on the national political agenda.
The Algarve Central Hospital is a process that began around 20 years ago. According to the same source, in 2008, during the Government of José Sócrates, similar steps were taken, with an opening scheduled for 2012 and an estimated cost of 250 million euros, also using a PPP model. Despite several initiatives and announcements over the years, the project never reached the execution phase, accumulating promises and studies without work on the ground.
At the press conference, António Leitão Amaro recovered this history to make a political difference. The minister joked about the successive unrealized intentions, stating that “those who talk, those who promise, those who govern on pink clouds don’t do it”.
“It’s whoever hires, who pays, who executes,” he declared, associating the decision now taken with a change in approach to implementing large public investments.
Other healthcare decisions
In addition to the Algarve hospital, the Council of Ministers also approved a financial reinforcement for the social sector in the area of health. According to the same source, an additional 10 million euros were allocated to cooperation agreements with mercy.
This amount will be channeled to institutions in the North region, with the aim of supporting the provision of healthcare, explains the website, framing the measure within a wider set of government decisions.
Despite political approval, several essential steps remain to be defined. According to , no dates were indicated for the launch of the public tender, for the start of construction or for the completion of the work.
António Leitão Amaro only provided an indicative time reference, stating that payments associated with the project are estimated to take place from 2032 onwards, highlighting the size and complexity of the contractual process and the construction itself.
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