I am categorical that I will not allow the Children's Hospital to be a hostage to political calculations and intrigues. An attempt is being made at open manipulation. It is a lie that we are building a golden hospital for 1 billion instead of 100 million leva. This was stated by the Minister of Health, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Silvi Kirilov, at a briefing on the project for the construction of the National Multi-profile Children's Hospital.
He made the statement in response to the chairman of “We Continue the Change“ Asen Vassilev. On Saturday, Vassilev showed journalists a document that he said was a request from the Minister of Health to the Minister of Finance to include in the budget for the new children's hospital almost 1 billion leva for the next three years. The testimony of the PP leader indicates that they were requested with VAT in order to fully complete the hospital. The Ministry of Health indicated the figure of 382 million euros - the same figure from the document, but excluding VAT.
The figures from the MoH document to the MoF show a total budget of 382,281,375.22 euros and 458,737,650.27 euros including VAT. These are the amounts for construction, equipment, furnishing, design, supervision, but the MoH announced that they are only estimated.
„The construction of a National Multi-profile Children's Hospital is a national priority. The goal is to create a medical facility that meets all world standards in child health care. It is extremely unfortunate that this key project is becoming an instrument of political wars”, Kirilov announced.
"The estimated amount for the children's hospital has been reviewed by experts hired by the European Investment Bank. The contract between the Health Investment Company and the European Investment Bank was signed by the executive director, who was appointed during the government of academician Denkov with Finance Minister Assen Vassilev. We have not undertaken any significant changes”, the minister added.
„The grant agreement with the European Investment Bank was concluded during the administration of those who are currently questioning the data”, confirmed the acting director of the "Health Investment Company for Children's Hospital" Desislava Malinova.
According to the finance minister, to whom the document was sent, it is still too early to say whether the state can cope with these budget plans. “A question of assessments, analysis, this analysis must be ready by the budget framework for 2026. Such a resource cannot be provided at the moment”, said Temenuzhka Petkova.
The Public Council for the National Children's Hospital also responded to Asen Vassilev's statements on their Facebook page. They wrote that any political game with the National Children's Hospital calls into question its future, and that they had not seen the document presented to the media by the leader of the PP.
“The price of 4,000 euros per square meter is for the complex and highly equipped rooms such as surgery, intensive care unit and neonatology. This price is derived from the real costs of creating the newest European children's hospitals. 100 million leva was the budget set by the Council of Ministers 6 years ago for the completion of the crumbling scaffolding in the yard of the Alexandrovska Hospital. It was more than twice as small as the planned built-up area, and the planned money did not include the costs of equipment and furnishings, the Public Council for the National Children's Hospital also wrote.
“These are average values taken from the construction data for public children's hospitals in Europe in recent years. They are not adapted to the Bulgarian economic standard and medical standards,” said Nadezhda Tsekulova.
“Continuing the Change” disseminated their position on the case of the children's hospital. We publish it without editorial intervention:
The need for a National Children's Hospital is undeniable. However, the construction of such a hospital must be implemented under full public and public control, precisely because the Children's Hospital is a national priority.
Thanks to the team of Health Minister Asena Serbezova, in 2022 international consultants were attracted to work on this project and to have a comprehensive concept, not piecemeal.
We remind you that back in 2022, in the state budget prepared by Finance Minister Asen Vassilev, 100 million leva were allocated for the initial stage of the children's hospital project. The new proposal by Minister Silvi Kirilov states the following: “…a summarized estimated budget of 458,737,650.27 euros including VAT.“
Now the Ministry of Health claims that they copied one by one the consultants' recommendation for a price based on the “average European“ prices of similar projects – in EU countries and Switzerland. These prices are certainly significantly higher than construction prices in Bulgaria. There is no adequate adaptation of this forecast to Bulgarian conditions, which is mandatory before the budgeting process begins.
In addition to the problem with the set “average European prices“ for construction, an additional 30% increase in price for unforeseen costs and a 19% increase in price for the “contractor's implementation budget“ above the average European construction prices have been set. This leads to a budget for construction only (without equipment and apparatus) of 253.6 million euros excluding VAT (304 million euros with VAT). For comparison, a letter to the parliamentary Committee on Health from members of the Public Council, sent in March this year, states: “rough estimates by experts indicate an approximate cost of 70 to 90 million euros for construction“. It is obvious that before budgeting, the Ministry of Health needs to make a real assessment of the construction costs.