Bucharest’s Metropolitan Hospital, the biggest in Romania, will cost close to EUR 1 billion

Bucharest’s Metropolitan Hospital, which should become the biggest hospital in Romania as well as the second-largest building in the country after the Parliament Palace, will cost RON 4.7 billion (EUR 980 million), according to a draft decision subject to approval by the Bucharest General Council.

The total investment is more than double compared to the one announced by Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea earlier this week when she officially presented the project. Firea said the hospital would cost EUR 400 million and would require three years to complete.

Meanwhile, according to the draft decision to be discussed by the General Council, the total value of this investment is RON 4.7 billion (EUR 980 million), VAT included, spread over a period of five years. Of the total sum, the building part is estimated at RON 2.4 billion (over EUR 500 million), VAT included. About half of the whole investment is scheduled to be financed in year 5, which is after the next local elections (in 2024).

The construction of the hospital should start in 2020, just before next year’s local elections, according to the timeline presented by the mayor.

The hospital will cover a footprint of over 27,000 sqm and will have a total area of almost 248,000 sqm. It will have 750 beds for admitted patients and 33 operating rooms.

Besides the hospital itself and a tower that will have a heliport on top, the project includes a kindergarten and nursery, 60 housing units for doctors, as well as road infrastructure, alleys and a park.

The investment will be carried out from the Bucharest City Hall’s budget and from “other legal sources,” the draft decision mentions. However, it is unclear how the municipality will afford to finance such a big investment, given that its budget is already overstretched. The Bucharest mayor said earlier this week that the municipality hasn’t been able to secure EU funding or state funding for the metropolitan hospital project.

On Friday, December 13, mayor Firea asked the Government to transfer RON 677 million (EUR 140 mln) extra from the state budget to cover this year’s expenses, which prime minister Ludovic Orban refused. Firea also said that transfers from the state budget to the Bucharest City Hall should amount to 1.5% of GDP, given that the Capital generates 25% of Romania’s GDP. She added that the municipality depends on financing from the state budget because it doesn’t collect taxes. Local taxes in Bucharest are collected by the city halls of the six districts, which run independently.