Estepona council agreed on Thursday to sign over the recently completed shell of the new local hospital to the Junta de Andalucía's health service, to be fitted out and made ready for use.
The council has paid for the construction work at over 15 million euros and the Junta regional government is now required to keep its side of the deal and pay for the running and upkeep of the new building.
The Junta has said it hopes to have it running "sometime in 2020".