- The construction of a new military hospital in Prešov continues.
- The police are conducting a criminal investigation and have already secured evidence at the construction site.
- The Ministry of Defense is still dealing with the settlement of obligations with the former construction contractor.
- The opposition expects the final price of the hospital to be more like 1 billion euros.
- Construction was suspended for inspections of the load-bearing elements and replacement of the contractor.
The construction of a new hospital in Prešov continues. The Minister of Defense declared it Robert Kaliňák (Smer-SD) on Wednesday in the parliament. He came there for the extraordinary Committee of the Slovak Republic for Defense and Security. However, he did not have a quorum, but the head of the department stayed for an informal debate with those present. “The hospital is already being built, at the same time the damaged columns are being removed and the construction intensity is starting so that we can deliver some results as quickly as possible,” he told reporters.
At the same time, the minister confirmed that the police, who opened a criminal investigation in connection with the construction of the new hospital, were on the scene to record evidence. He also added that the former contractor is still being discussed about the settlement of obligations from the contract. He admits that they can also sue him.
The opposition appreciated that the minister came to discuss informally with them. However, she criticized that she did not receive answers to several questions and there are still uncertainties surrounding the process and procedure. They fear that the final price of the project will be much higher than expected. “The price will move towards a billion and it will not cost as much as the minister says, 600 million euros,” commented the MP František Majerský (KDH).
MP Tomáš Szalay (SaS), on the other hand, asked about the legality of the issuance of the building permit, since the environmental impact assessment was not carried out. Szalay thinks it should have been done in this case. Oskar Dvořák (PS) was interested in a new contract. He drew attention to the fact that the contract should have been signed with only one company, not a consortium.
The construction of the military hospital in Prešov began at the turn of 2025 and 2026. Since then, part of the building has been built. At the end of April this year, the Minister of Defense Robert Kaliňák (Smer-SD) announced the suspension of construction as a result of quality control of work on the load-bearing elements of the building. After the end of cooperation with the then contractor, a new group of companies took over the building. The department announced a public tender for the second stage. The opposition has repeatedly criticized the government’s progress in building the hospital. Both Kaliňák and Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) reject the criticism.
