Regional government approves 355 million euros of funding for construction of third public hospital in Malaga

A major new development in the administrative and economic processing of the project for Malaga's third public hospital, which will be built on the site of the Hospital Civíl car park - an area in which some buildings will also have to be demolished. Yesterday, the spokesperson for the Andalusian government and regional minister of economy and finance, Carolina España, announced a new budget of 355 million euros that has been approved for the construction of the complex and stated: "This is a step prior to the future tendering process for the hospital, which we hope will be as soon as possible." España expects that the tendering process, which concerns both the construction of the hospital and the car park, will take place this June.

The regional cabinet has approved a new spending limit for the period from 2026 to 2032 - the year in which the infrastructure will be operational. The total now amounts to 607.5 million euros. The portion of 355 million euros for the period from 2026 to 2029 will be charged to European ERDF funds, while the instalments from 2030 to 2032 will be charged to the regional government's own funds.

This is one of the great historical demands of Malaga's society, which has seen the start of the service delayed time and time again, despite the fact that the debate on the third hospital has been ongoing in the city for more than two decades.

The infrastructure will reach a planned investment of more than 607.5 million euros, which means that more than half of the funds required to build such a project have been earmarked. The aim is for the third hospital to be operational by 2032, or at least that is the latest target date, although it has been modified on previous occasions. Until a few months ago, the opening year was 2027. The construction period will be 60 months, i.e. five years.

In principle, the works for the car park of the future centre were going to be put out to tender first and then the hospital works, but according to sources, "everything will be put out to tender together".

España stated that the hospital is "an absolute commitment" of the Junta's president, Juanma Moreno. "It is a centre that meets the needs of the province: a great hospital that the city needs, spanning over 246,000 square metres," she said.

The third hospital will have 815 rooms, an emergency department with 31 medical consultation rooms, eight for nurses and 61 observation beds. It will have 80 intensive care unit beds and a surgical block with 48 operating theatres. With regard to outpatient consultations, there will be 158 rooms for medical specialities and 38 for nursing, as well as an area for teaching and research.

The debate about the third hospital started in the early 2000s, while one regarding the construction of a centre in Malaga's eastern district, that would serve the Axarquia and the entire eastern part of the province, has been on the table since much earlier. The discussion has suffered from confrontations over starting dates and construction deadlines, with one side stating that it would take longer than the other planned. A project of this magnitute requires important legal and administrative proceedings.

Different political parties have promoted the initiative, without moving forward due to obstacles that slowed the process down. Yesterday's announcement seems to have turned inertia into momentum.

The regional ministry of health has divided the construction project into two phases. The first one concerns the construction of a three-storey-high car park, with three basements to house health facilities and 839 parking spaces. In addition, a provisional surface car park with 650 spaces will be built to free up the area where the first of the car parks will be built.

The second phase of the work corresponds to the actual construction of the hospital, consisting of a large base construction, four basements and four hospitalisation towers. At this stage of construction, four basements with a capacity for 928 parking spaces will also be built, bringing the total number of parking spaces to 1,767. The regional government wants the same company to pay for and operate the parking spaces, which is precisely what will reduce the total cost of the centre, estimated at 700 million euros, of which the Andalusian administration expects to save 79 million.