Zagreb's Merkur hospital reopened after post-earthquake reconstruction

Hina - Merkur is the first hospital in Zagreb to be fully reconstructed following the 2020 earthquake, it was said on Monday during the reopening of the renovated hospital in the presence of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and two ministers.

More than €63 million was invested in Merkur’s reconstruction. The oldest part of the hospital dates back to 1930, and it is the first hospital to have undergone serious infrastructural interventions after the devastating earthquake that struck Zagreb and its surroundings on 22 March 2020.

Merkur is the first hospital in Zagreb to be fully rebuilt and throughout the renovation, it remained fully operational, allowing our transplant team to rank among the best in Europe, said director Mario Starešinić.

He expressed gratitude to the government and the prime minister for securing €25 million from the EU Solidarity Fund for the hospital’s reconstruction.

In addition to funds from the EU Solidarity Fund, the remainder of the financing was secured through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the state budget.

Plenković recalled that 26,000 buildings were damaged in the earthquake and that young Anamarija Carević lost her life. "The post-earthquake reconstruction gave us the opportunity to restore hospitals in Zagreb, and the government seized this opportunity. We opted for seismic retrofitting, which took more time and money, but this hospital is now practically brand new."

Health Minister Irena Hrstić thanked him for recognising the importance of the healthcare system. "Alongside the reconstruction, this hospital continued to provide medical services, including multi-organ transplants."

Construction Minister Branko Bačić described this as a "historic reconstruction." "No hospital in Zagreb will be forgotten in this reconstruction."

The prime minister also visited the reconstructed Clinic for Women’s Diseases and Childbirth in Petrova Street, which was also severely damaged in the earthquake.

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