Andalucía's regional government publishes contract for construction of new hospital in Malaga

Andalucía's regional government has taken a key step towards the construction of the new hospital in Malaga. The EU's official journal published the announcement of the tender for the contract for the construction of the new facility, worth 822 million euros (679,631,626 euros plus IVA sales tax) on Tuesday. However, the bidding price is set at 607.5 million euros - the amount established for the contract, excluding possible modifications or extensions. At the moment, it is estimated that the period for completion will be six years.

Interested companies have until 3pm on 22 July to submit their bids. Once the bidding period is closed, it will become clear how much interest this project has generated.

The hospital will be financed mostly with EU funds. The annual payments from 2026 to 2029 will be charged to Feder funds and the rest of the payments, from 2030 to 2032, will be financed with credits from the regional administration.

The Andalusian government plans to sign a mixed contract: for the construction of the hospital and the operations of the adjoining car park. What this means is that the awarded company will manage the car park once the construction of the hospital is finished. The objective is to save some 79 million euros by hiring the same company and giving it the opportunity to continue operating on the grounds of the hospital even after the opening date scheduled for 2032.

There will be two car paks: one located behind the buildings on Calle Blas de Lezo and one in the hospital's basement. The two will be connected via the underground levels, which is why it is in the technical interest of the same construction company to be responsible for both. In total there will be 1,767 parking spaces.

The Andalusian health service (SAS) upheld its decision to award the mixed contract to the same company, despite receiving an allegation from concession company Ohla Concesiones, which stated that this idea was weak in some aspects. However, SAS did correct "an error" and republished the feasibility plan, reducing the payback period from 31 to 23 years.

Similarly, in line with Ohla's allegation, the calculation of revenues from the operation of the car parks during the 40-year concession was also reduced. In the previous study, the total income was estimated at 275 million euros, which has now been reduced to 177 million euros.

These changes slightly improve the conditions under which the Junta is proposing this construction model for the new hospital, aiming to reduce costs by allowing the company that builds it to also operate the parking facilities. The goal is to ensure that the joint tender for both the construction and the parking operation doesn't go unawarded: a process that is now officially underway following the announcement in the EU's official journal.

The study divides work into two phases. The project begins with the construction of the car park behind Calle Blas de Lezo, which will be equipped with 839 spaces distributed over seven floors and three basements. The ground floor will be able to house commercial premises.

This first phase also involves the construction of a provisional surface car park to clear the area where the main parking building will be constructed. This outdoor car park will have 650 spaces, located closer to the axis of the Avenida del Arroyo de los Ángeles. This means that some of the existing buildings in that area will have to be demolished, for which the Junta has already activated the corresponding contracts.

The second phase concerns the construction of the hospital. The facility will have a large foundation with four basements and four hospital towers, with capacity for 815 rooms. The hospital will be designed by a company that specialises in hospital architecture. The hospital car park will have a capacity for 928 spaces.

The hospital will have an emergency area with 31 consultation rooms, eight nursing stations and 61 observation beds. It will also offer 80 ICU beds and a surgical block with 48 operating theatres. As for outpatient consultations, there will be 158 rooms for medical specialities, 38 for nursing and an area for teaching and research.