Fico: Banska Bystrica Hospital Shell to be Completed by End of July

Banska Bystrica/Bratislava, 27 July (TASR) - The structural shell of the new Roosevelt Hospital in Banska Bystrica will be completed by the end of July in line with the original schedule, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) confirmed during a visit to the construction site on Monday. Part of the new hospital is expected to open to patients at the beginning of 2028, with the entire facility due to be completed in 2029. Fico estimated the total cost of the project at between €550 million and €600 million, with more than half of the funding coming from Slovakia's Recovery and Resilience Plan. During the visit, the prime minister thanked the hospital's management and representatives of the Health Ministry, describing the construction of the new hospital in Banska Bystrica as a "fantastic success". He pointed that work began in May 2024 and said the structural shell is be completed by the end of the current month as planned. The project will then continue with the building envelope, interior works and the gradual installation of technology. "The plan is for the first part of this hospital to open at the beginning of 2028, followed by the remaining section in January 2029," Fico said. The hospital will have 771 beds built to the highest standards, with every room featuring its own bathroom. In addition, it will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including 20 operating theatres, many of them robotic, according to Fico. "Considering the way materials will be transported and the overall logistics of the hospital, we can speak of a facility comparable with any leading hospital in Europe and the world," the prime minister emphasized. Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) said the hospital is due to serve also as a scientific research centre with international cooperation. "It will include a simulation centre where medical students and future healthcare professionals are going to receive training. A truly comprehensive infrastructure is being created here," the minister said. More than €350 million from the Recovery and Resilience Plan has been allocated to the construction of the new hospital in Banska Bystrica. The contractor is the Nemocnica BB consortium, STRABAG PS - SIEBERT + TALAS. According to Fico, construction of the structural shell will cost around €308 million. Additional spending on interior equipment and technology will follow in the coming years, to be financed from the state budget. "Overall, we can say the project will cost between €550 million and €600 million," Fico said. mf