Construction of Shtip Clinical Hospital to resume next summer or autumn, says Health Minister

The construction of the new Clinical Hospital in Shtip — a project stalled for more than a decade and described by authorities as a "monument to incompetence" — is expected to resume next summer or autumn after the completion of financing and procurement procedures, Health Minister Sasho Klekovski said today in Shtip.

Agreement with lenders and tendering to follow

Klekovski said the government expects to finalise an arrangement with the World Bank and the European Investment Bank by the end of the year, after which the procurement process will start and building work can be relaunched.

As Klekovski put it: "I personally together with the mission of the World Bank and the European Investment Bank was in the Clinical Hospital – Tetovo at the end of July this year. Ten days ago we had the second mission and I hope that by the end of the year the Government will have signed the arrangement with the World Bank and the European Investment Bank, which should enable the start of implementation of these three long-awaited projects from our side." said Klekovski.

Although the old Shtip hospital still provides the most complex services in the country when compared to Tetovo and Bitola, it faces poor conditions for patients and staff and requires reconstruction after the roof collapsed during severe weather, the minister noted.

The procurement for supervision has been completed and officials are waiting for the resolution of a pending complaint before work on oversight can proceed.

During his visit Klekovski inaugurated a new regional multidisciplinary centre at the Shtip Clinical Hospital designed to speed diagnosis and treatment for patients with breast cancer. He also announced that seasonal influenza vaccines have arrived and that the Vakcinacija.mk application will be activated once a technical problem is fixed.

Photo: press material from the event