The new hospital, which has been planned for 20 years, is now moving forward with the launch of the public tender procedure for the signing of the management contract, under a PPP regime, for “the design, project, construction, financing, conservation, maintenance, and operation” of the HCA, with the publication of an announcement in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The Central Hospital of the Algarve was identified as a priority in February 2006 in the final report of the investment-priority assessment study for the partnership program for the hospital sector.

“The need to build a new hospital infrastructure in the Algarve region was identified as a priority, resulting in the aforementioned report identifying the Central Hospital of the Algarve as the second highest priority, right after the Eastern Lisbon Hospital,” reads the order signed by the Secretaries of State for the Treasury and Finance, João Silva Lopes, and for Health Management, Francisco Gonçalves.

The document recalls previous attempts to move forward with the project in 2008 and 2011, which were postponed “due to various vicissitudes,” namely the signing on 17 May 2011 of the Memorandum of Understanding on Economic Policy Conditionalities.

“Between May 2011 and mid-2022, there were no developments in the pre-contractual procedure, specifically because the necessary conditions to resume the procedure were not met, under the terms and with respect to the assumptions underlying its launch in 2008,” it emphasises.

The approval of the PPP follows a detailed report prepared by the Algarve Regional Health Administration (ARS) and the Central Administration of the Health System (ACSS), which analysed the economic impacts, cost-benefit, and rationality of the partnership model.

“The results obtained from the economic and financial analysis allow us to conclude that the overall benefits of the HCA Project, both for the population and for the National Health Service, outweigh the costs of its development, having a very significant potential for the Portuguese State,” the order emphasises.

The approval now foresees an international public call for bids for the contracting of the project, subject to the State’s authorisation of expenditure, in accordance with the order that came into force on the day of its signing (7 January).

The jury team for the procedure includes representatives from the Technical Unit for Project Monitoring, the Central Administration of the Health System, and the Algarve Regional Health Administration, ensuring transparency and technical rigour.

The Government plans to spend a maximum of €426.6 million, shared over 27 years and not exceeding €50 million per year, and estimates that the new infrastructure will begin operating in 2031, according to the Council of Ministers’ statement on 9 January.