The state is taking the first concrete steps to restart the process of building the National Children's Hospital. This was stated by the Minister of Health Katya Ivkova after the first meeting of the Interdepartmental Council on the Issues of the National Children's Hospital.
„In order to have a guarantee that the National Children's Hospital will be built within our mandate, it is very important for the state to step into its functions. This was done as a first step today with the Interdepartmental Council“, said Ivkova, quoted by Nova TV.
For his part, the Regional Minister Ivan Shishov indicated that a new task will be prepared for the construction of the health facility, since, according to him, the current one implies spending more funds than necessary. After that, a new tender procedure must be held and a new project developed. „This task implies waste. That is, simply to have a children's hospital that works for us, but it means giving more money than necessary“, said Shishkov.
According to him, one of the main problems over the past three years is not only the delay in the project, but also the way in which the terms of reference were prepared. The minister believes that in its implementation the state would pay significantly more, without the funds being used effectively enough. This is one of the reasons for starting the procedure from scratch. “Let's do a new tender procedure and start from the very beginning with a new project – the reason is the terms of reference itself“, explained the regional minister.
Shishkov emphasized that the terms of reference are the key part of the preparation of such a project, because through it the investor – in this case the state – determines what exactly needs to be built. “The terms of reference are the most important in determining what the investor wants, what the state wants. In this case, however, we had an investor who did not protect the state interest“, he said.
The minister pointed out that the state is in a situation inherited from 2023, in which there is a certain plot of land, but construction is not yet underway on it.
“The other indisputable fact is that there is a procedure in the Supreme Administrative Court, that is, there is a legal impasse“, the Minister of Health pointed out. Due to the accumulated problems, a decision was made to change the composition of the Board of Directors of the “Health Investment Company for Children's Hospital“.
“It is necessary to revise the terms of reference for the National Children's Hospital, as some of the envisaged parameters seem significantly inflated“, said Katya Ivkova.
She gave an example of the number of operating rooms included in the project. The current assignment of the National Children's Hospital includes 20 operating rooms, while the newly built children's hospital in Burgas has four. "It was certainly not necessary to plan so many operating rooms," Ivkova said.
The Health Minister pointed out that the difference in the total built-up area between the two projects is not that great. In the Burgas Children's Hospital, it is about 28,000 sq. m, while according to the assignment announced by the “Health Investment Company for Children's Hospital“, about 35,000 sq. m are planned for the National Children's Hospital. “The difference between the two sizes is negligible, but the difference in the operating rooms is huge“, the minister commented.
According to her, this requires a detailed analysis of the parameters set in the previous assignment, and the reasons for their being defined in this scope.
“I have held talks with colleagues from the European Investment Bank, who financed the consultancy assistance. There were indeed quite difficult negotiations during the preparation of the reports and then the inclusion of the final report in the tender procedure“, the Minister of Health indicated.
According to Ivkova, the large number of operating rooms is not justified from a financial point of view either. In addition to their construction, they require expensive medical equipment and subsequent maintenance. Ivkova also pointed out that other parameters in the project are also inflated, including the number of hospital beds.
“Children's health is a priority for the state and in a very short time we will restart the process so that the project for the construction of the medical facility can be launched as quickly as possible“, said Ivkova. The Minister of Health also outlined another serious problem - the lack of sufficient work on the medical part of the project in recent years. According to her, the necessary planning of the medical staff that will be needed for the functioning of the National Children's Hospital has not been carried out. There is also a lack of sufficient communication with medical societies and universities.
She pointed out that the only action taken in this direction was the provision of funds from the European Union to finance specializations in scarce medical specialties.
We recall that today it became clear that the “Health Investment Company for Children's Hospital“ has a completely new management. The new executive director is Prof. Elena Peneva-Zlatkova. The Board of Directors includes Rumen Tsekov and Vasil Rakov as chairman and deputy chairman, respectively. By a decision of August 28, the previous executive director Desislava Malinova was dismissed, as well as the members of the Board of Directors Stefan Asparuhov and Slavena Kostova.
“Over the past few months, we have held meetings with Ms. Malinova 2 or 3 times, during which I have drawn attention to the shortcomings that they had within the Board of Directors. I acted within the law and transparently”, commented Katya Ivkova on the dismissal of the old management.
The former executive director of the Health Investment Company believes that her dismissal is without real arguments. “We were not given a notification. Specifically, Minister Ivkova headed the department that worked on this project. There is no moment when the ministry does not know about every single project and problem”, she is categorical.
The dismissed management will appeal to the court.
Regional Minister Ivan Shishkov defended the choice of the terrain for the National Children's Hospital and stated that as an architect he defined it as “extremely good” for the construction of the medical facility.
According to him, the property is state-owned, large enough and has the prospect of good transport connectivity. After the construction of the Sofia Ring Road, access to the future hospital will be significantly improved.
“When the hospital starts operating and when we build the Ring Road, the issue of the terrain will most likely disappear“, said Shishkov.
He explained that the main problem in preparing the terrain was the presence of private property in its middle. In order to resolve the issue, the detailed development plan was amended and first preliminary and then final contracts were concluded with the owner of the private property.
Shishkov also pointed out that according to the General Development Plan of Sofia, the terrain is intended for public construction with the prospect of building a hospital. There are already two medical institutions in the area, which, according to him, further supports the choice of the location.
Another 15 acres, provided by the Sofia Municipality, have been added to the main terrain. This area is a green area and, according to the minister, is another advantage for the future hospital complex.
Shishkov said that preparing the property required intensive work, including settling relations with the private owner and completing the procedures for the detailed development plan. According to him, searching for a new site at this stage would mean going back in the process.
The regional minister also commented on which elements of the project could be revised. According to him, at this stage there is no need for the National Children's Hospital to have its own hotel section.
“I don't see a parent who would leave their child in the hospital room and go to the hotel section“, Shishkov argued.
Instead, according to the provisions in the hospital rooms, the parent should be able to stay with their child, including with a separate bed and bathroom.
Shishkov also pointed out that managing a hotel from a hospital for hospital care would be an atypical activity for him, and Katya Ivkova shared the same opinion.
The regional minister also drew attention to the financial consequences of the delay in major infrastructure projects in the country. According to him, construction, which could have started in the last three or four years, will now be significantly more expensive due to the accumulated inflation.
“The fact that someone did not bother to do their job is starting to weigh even more heavily on Bulgaria's budget. And when it has a stronger impact on a country's budget, it means that we will all start paying more“, commented Shishkov.
According to him, there is no more time to waste and work on the project must be accelerated. Concrete steps have already been identified for the preparation of the new assignment and the organization of the new procedure.
“We have taken clear and precise measures on how we will make a new assignment and place a new order as soon as possible. Every passing day costs us, the taxpayers“, said the minister.
He pointed out that the government has an “extremely serious debt“ to compensate for the delay in the country's infrastructure development that has accumulated over the last three to four years.
Shishkov assured that work on the National Children's Hospital and other key infrastructure projects will continue actively. According to him, inaction in previous years is already leading to a significantly higher price for the state.
„What we left behind, we found. This is starting to cost us much, much more. That's right, that's the situation. We're not complaining, we're starting to work“, the regional minister also said.
He added that the goal is for the government to publicly present progress on important projects for the state and the specific work done on them every month.
Regional Minister Ivan Shishkov said that in parallel with the preparation of the National Children's Hospital, work is also being done on the infrastructure around the future medical facility. Among the main projects is the Sofia Ring Road, and according to him, concrete steps should be taken in the coming months to expropriate the necessary land.
Shishkov pointed out that the detailed development plan for the section of the Ring Road in the region was approved by his order in 2023, when he was again the acting Minister of Regional Development.
„In the last two months, we have been working actively. We have also had several meetings with the Sofia Municipality,“ he said.
According to him, the goal is to submit the proposal for the expropriation of the necessary land to the Council of Ministers within about two months. After that, the procedures related to the construction of the Ring Road should begin.
Shishkov also recalled his request that on September 17 - Sofia Day, there should be development along the rest of the Ring Road. It is expected that the detailed development plan for this area will be reviewed, which, according to him, has not received the necessary development in the last two or three years.
The regional minister admitted that at the moment the necessary infrastructure development is lacking around the terrain of the future National Children's Hospital. According to him, however, the infrastructure related to the area has been planned for years - even before the location for the medical facility was determined.
„Nothing is happening in terms of infrastructure around the children's hospital. But the paradox is that when we have a planned children's hospital and there is planned infrastructure around it, it is obvious that no one at that moment bothered to move all these objects. They will now be done“, said Shishkov.
He assured that the regional ministry is in constant contact with the Sofia Municipality and expects the local government to also fulfill its commitments.
Among the issues discussed is a substation site, for which the Sofia Municipality must move forward with an amendment to the detailed development plan. Shishkov expressed his expectation that this procedure will be completed soon.
Talks are also in an advanced phase for an additional change to the detailed development plan, which would allow the construction of an additional underground parking lot on municipal land for the needs of the hospital.
“The Children's Hospital will indeed be not only designed, but will also be built in an environment in which there should be a normal urban environment and normal access“, the minister assured.
In his words, this requires joint efforts of the state, the Ministry of Regional Development and the Sofia Municipality.
“We will not build a site that is in the middle of nowhere. On the contrary - we are building a site and, of course, the infrastructure that is connected to this site“, Shishkov emphasized.
The regional minister also criticized previous administrations for the delay in infrastructure projects. Without naming a specific name, he made a reference to a former prime minister who governed the country three times, stating that promises had been made repeatedly over the years for the Sofia Ring Road.
According to him, similar promises had also been made for the “Hemus“ highway, the National Children's Hospital and other major infrastructure projects.
“The Sofia Ring Road, the “Hemus“ highway and all other infrastructure projects were promised to us generously. We received nothing“, commented Shishkov.
He pointed out that the most complex part of the Sofia Ring Road had not even been designed. According to him, in previous years there was an opportunity for the work to progress, but this did not happen.
“We are not only working on the terrain of the children's hospital, we are working on the entire infrastructure, including the Ring Road“, said the regional minister.
Shishkov also commented on the proposal of the Public Council to hold an international competition for the design of the National Children's Hospital.
According to him, such a procedure could lead to very good architectural results, but it must be carefully assessed whether it will not create a risk of new delays.
“This is only a matter of judgment in what way we can achieve the fastest construction of the children's hospital“, he said.
One of the options being discussed is the future assignment to allow the issuance of a building permit at the conceptual design stage, if legal requirements allow this. The goal, according to Shishkov, is to save time.
He explained that the hospital is an extremely specific and large-scale facility. In addition to the architectural and structural part, the project must include complex installations and medical technologies, the design of which also takes a significant amount of time.
Therefore, the possibility of construction activities starting while work on some of the remaining design solutions continues is being discussed.
According to Shishkov, if the building permit is obtained at an early enough stage, construction of the structure and the underground part of the hospital can begin, while the design of the specific technological solutions continues in parallel.