The Diplomat
Acciona has won a contract in Chile to design, build and operate for a period of five years the La Serena Hospital, located in the Coquimbo region, for 258 million dollars (207 million euros), reports Europa Press.
The Spanish group headed by José Manuel Entrecanales submitted the best economic offer among the only two companies that bid for the concession, the other being OHLA, also from Spain, whose bid for the construction was 20% more expensive, according to the award minutes.
The country’s Ministry of Public Works estimates that this new construction will benefit the 723,000 inhabitants of the region in which the project is located, which will be one of the largest hospital complexes in the area, within the country’s public hospital network.
The hospital will be located on a 121,000 square metre site and will have 668 beds, of which 146 will be for critical patients, 332 will be medical-surgical, 90 gynaecobstetric, 48 paediatric, 18 neonatal and 34 for adult psychiatry, according to Acciona in a press release.
In addition, there will be 15 wards, 85 medical, dental and non-medical consultation rooms, six comprehensive care rooms for childbirth and an emergency service. For some services, such as specialised neonatology and oncology, it will provide supra-regional care (including Atacama), which means that the new hospital will have an impact beyond the Coquimbo region.
Acciona’s presence in Chile dates back to 1993, being one of the company’s strategic markets in South America. The company already has experience in the comprehensive management of hospital infrastructure construction projects, such as the Infanta Sofía Hospital in Spain, the Bajío Regional Hospital in Mexico and the Marga Provincial Hospital in Chile.
In Chile it is also present through motorways, water treatment plants, hospital centres, hydroelectric plants and infrastructure for the mining sector. In addition, Acciona Energy has close to 1,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy in operation in the country.
