Kalinak: New Tender to Be Held for Completing Building of Presov Hospital

Bratislava, 18 May (TASR) - A new tender will be held for completing the construction of Presov hospital, stated Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) at a press conference on Monday, adding that the SNP Central Military Hospital in Ruzomberok (Zilina region) withdrew from the construction contract with the current contractor on Friday (15 May). According to him, a preliminary report on the assessment was received late last week, and it confirmed that most of the columns at the construction site have problems. "In some cases, the problem is so serious that the columns will have to be removed and cannot be repaired," stated Kalinak, adding that the issue concerns one floor currently under construction. "As, despite several calls for improvement, the contractor's approach to the project itself didn't improve, we were forced to opt for quick and radical solutions so that we could move the hospital forward as quickly as possible and begin operations," said Kalinak, adding that the ministry has therefore withdrawn from the contract. At the same time, on Monday, Kalinak signed a construction contract for Presov hospital with a company called In Vest and four subcontractors, including Strabag Pozemne stavitelstvo, Skanska SK, Metrostav Slovakia, and Hornex. "This will mean continuing the hospital's construction, and, at the same time, we'll announce a tender this week that will mark the full completion of the hospital itself," said the defence minister. Last year, the Defence Ministry signed a contract with a group of contractors for developing and modernising the university hospital and outpatient clinic in Presov, worth €447.8 million, ex-VAT. Kalinak announced in late April that the Defence Ministry had suspended construction due to a quality inspection of the work performed on the building's load-bearing elements. Kalinak also admitted that the completion date for the hospital could be postponed. The group of companies building the new hospital declared that it would cooperate with the technical investigation of the situation and its interest in ensuring that the project is completed. West Hungaria Epitoipari Szolgaltato announced the exclusion of Bekor from the consortium. am/df