In Pilsen, a surgical pavilion will begin construction, costing 3.2 billion CZK

Plzeň – In Plzeň, construction of the surgical departments pavilion will begin this year after 16 years of preparation, at a cost of 3.2 billion crowns. The first hundreds of millions of crowns will come from the state budget. Premier Andrej Babiš (ANO) announced this today at the University Hospital in Plzeň. According to the hospital director Václav Šimánek, construction could start at the turn of April and May, with completion planned by 2030.

"We are waiting for the (state) budget to be approved on March 11 so that construction of the surgical pavilion can begin, where about 500 million will be spent this year, 70 percent of which will come from the state. I unequivocally support the pavilion," he stated. The Prime Minister wants the new building to start this year. "We must allocate the money from the budget. They have it (the university hospitals) planned, everything is ready," he added.

Director of the University Hospital Plzeň Václav Šimánek welcomed the Prime Minister's support for the surgical pavilion and the fact that the first hundreds of millions should come from the state this year. "It is according to the budget. We are waiting for permission to sign the contract. We have a contractor selected, a consortium of large companies, and the Ministry of Health must confirm that we can sign a contract with them," he told ČTK.

Initially, the construction was expected to cost at least four billion, but according to Šimánek, the competitive bidding among three suppliers managed to lower the price. "We saved 800 million, so it will cost 3.2 billion crowns," he stated. The hospital management considers this a success. "Now it's important to build it within that timeframe. But we will put all our efforts into it," he remarked.

After signing the contract, the hospital will hand over the construction site to the contractor. "I see the start of construction rationally at the turn of April and May," said the director. According to him, the hospital will be able to handle the earthworks and part of the foundations of the new building for 500 million crowns this year. "We have the construction planned until 2030. But we expect it to be completed sooner," he added.

The twelve-story surgical pavilion with a helipad on the roof and a modern operating theater will concentrate surgical clinics and departments from the Bory campus of the hospital to the Lochotín site. It will include surgery, orthopedics, neurosurgery, and urology, a large emergency reception, and an emergency department. The clinic of anesthesiology, resuscitation, and intensive medicine will also move there.

Plzeň doctors have been waiting for the new surgical pavilion for many years. The first study for the construction was drawn up 16 years ago, and in 2015 the project was included in the government's strategic investment plan. At that time, the expected cost was around two billion crowns.

For the largest investment, the hospital has already previously received approvals from the Ministries of Health and Finance. According to last year's budget, the state was to cover three billion crowns, and one billion was to come from the hospital's own reserve fund.