The construction of the future Hospital Central do Algarve once again generated tension between the Government and the municipalities of Loulé and Faro, this time because of the costs of infrastructure to access the equipment, an expense that both municipalities refuse to assume.
According to , the two municipalities were surprised this week with a communication from the Central Administration of the Health System that points to the possibility of having to bear these costs, despite arguing that this responsibility lies with the State.
The opposition from the municipalities did not emerge now. According to the same source, both the mayor of Loulé and Faro had already expressed disagreement regarding this point at the beginning of the year, when the agreement to move forward with the hospital was signed. At that time, the issue of access was already part of the concerns raised by the mayors, mainly because it was a project that had been promised for a long time and successively postponed.
Land paid for by local authorities
The future hospital will be built next to the Algarve Stadium, in an area acquired in 2008 by the two municipalities. Faro and Loulé together spent more than six million euros to secure the land. This investment is now pointed out by city halls as proof that there has already been a significant financial contribution to make the project viable.
The case of Hospital de Todos-os-Santos, in Lisbon, appears as a term of comparison in this debate. According to the same source, in that process the land was purchased from the municipality, which received around 14 million euros in 2010. Later, the publication adds, there was also an expansion of the area, in 2024, which represented another five million euros for the Lisbon municipality.
Competition is already underway
While the discussion about access continues, the international competition for the design, construction and management of the Algarve Central Hospital continues. It is a public-private partnership valued at almost R$450 million over 27 years.
SIC Notícias states that interested parties have already submitted more than 1,000 questions within the scope of the process, one of which is precisely about who assumes the costs of infrastructures that are not included in the specifications.
Évora case enters the equation
The model followed in Évora is also being observed in this process. In the future Hospital Central do Alentejo, it was the municipality that was responsible for access, but only after a commitment from the Ministry of Health to pay for the cost of the work. According to the same source, this value is around 14 million euros, a solution that, until now, has not been replicated in the Algarve.
So far, the Ministry of Health has not clarified how it intends to resolve the impasse between the State and the Algarve municipalities. The absence of an official position keeps open an issue considered central to the progress of the project. The award of the work is scheduled for 2027 and the hospital’s entry into operation is scheduled for 2031, but the definition of access remains to be finalized.
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