17 - 23 February 2000

Skanska to get Lm41.5m from new hospital contract

by Franco Aloisio

As a result of the contract signed on Tuesday in connection with an ongoing hospital project at Tal-Qroqq, the Swedish construction group Skanska will be getting Lm41.5m.

This sum will cover all design and construction costs. The total value of the new hospital will amount to Lm83m. This will be Lm13m less than the cost planned by the previous government. Another Lm25m will be required to equip the hospital.

The new hospital, commissioned by the Foundation for Medical Services (FMS), is to be expanded from 480 beds to 680 beds and to receive several new departments in order to become a complete university hospital.

Skanska's new contract is a design-build contract which makes Skanska the project manager of the hospital project. Skanska was chosen to prepare the new hospital designs, while FMS agreed to supervise all work carried out even during construction work.

The contract was signed between Skanska and the FMS. The foundation's President, Dr Joseph Pace, and Skanska President Jan Sjostedt signed the agreement in the presence of Health Minister Louis Deguara. Skanska President Mr Sjostedt said that the new hospital is the largest medical project which his company is involved in at present.

The contract was signed after several changes in the hospital's design and major hiccups in the construction phases ensued. Originally, under the pre-1996 Nationalist government, the then San Raffaele Hospital had to serve as a top-quality research centre apart from being a hospital for acute conditions. St Luke's Hospital had to remain and together with the San Raffaele cater for the medical needs of the Maltese population.

However the 1996 change in government brought with it changes in the design and concept of the new hospital. The Labour administration had envisaged a 1000-bed hospital. This led to major delays in the construction works.

Following the 1998 election, the government decided to incorporate the research and training facilities in the designs of the new hospital, which will cater for 650 beds, with the possibility of a further 200.