€174m contract signed for reconstruction of KBC Zagreb hospital

(Hina) - A €174 million contract for the expansion and reconstruction of the KBC Zagreb hospital, including the construction of a new hospital building, garage, helipad and access road, was signed on Thursday by Construction Minister Branko Bačić and the contractor, the Kamgrad company.

"This is one of the largest projects in the healthcare sector, to be undertaken as part of the reconstruction process launched after the (2020) earthquakes in Zagreb and Petrinja," Bačić said, adding that the project was financed with a World Bank loan and funds from the state budget.

"The government has decided that the (hospital) units will not be restored to their state before the earthquake but that modern, more resistant structures should be built," he stressed.

The project is expected to last 30 months, and the new hospital complex is expected to be completed by June 2027.

Krunoslav Šimatović, project head for the World Bank loan, said the reconstruction work would be conducted in stages so as to enable the unimpeded provision of medical services by this university medical centre.

"The KBC Zagreb reconstruction project, with more than 35,000 square metres of space and 197 hospital beds, is a key project," Šimatović said, adding that the helipad would secure fast access for emergency cases.

"The design of the project lasted more than two years, and the reconstruction work will begin in December," he added.

KBC Zagreb deputy director Stjepko Pleština said that the hospital would be open for patients for the duration of the project and would not be relocated to other institutions.

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