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Work starts on 'Virgen de la Esperanza', Andalucía's biggest hospital
New Málaga mega-hospital aims to transform public healthcare by 2032
Málaga has begun building what is set to be the largest hospital in Andalucía and one of the biggest in Spain. The new Virgen de la Esperanza hospital will form part of a huge health complex between the existing Civil Hospital and the Maternity and Children’s Hospital, on land donated by the Provincial Council and valued at around 70 million euros.The project involves more than 400,000 square metres of healthcare space, with 320,000 square metres of new construction arranged in four interconnected towers. When it opens fully, the hospital will offer 815 single rooms, 48 operating theatres, 158 specialist consulting rooms, 26 diagnostic rooms, 38 nursing consultation rooms, 80 intensive care beds and 61 observation beds, making it the largest hospital in Andalucía and one of the biggest in the country.
At the foundation stone ceremony, the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, stressed that the new complex is not a luxury. He said it is “not a whim” but a response to “a long standing need and injustice.” When he took office in 2019, he recalled, Málaga had just 118 public hospital beds per 100,000 inhabitants, far below the national average of 236, figures he described as “terrifying numbers for Malaga’s public healthcare system.”Moreno pointed out that the province grows by about 21,000 residents a year, putting intense pressure on services. He described Virgen de la Esperanza as “a macro healthcare complex” that “will mark a turning point in Andalusian and Spanish public healthcare” and “a benchmark in the European Union.” The president admitted that he had sometimes wondered if such a large project could really move forward, but insisted that “there’s no turning back now” and said the finished hospital would operate as “a precision hospital machine.”
The investment in building works alone comes to 543 million euros including VAT, with more funds to follow for medical equipment. A further 245 million euros will extend metro line 2 to the hospital, bringing the total public investment close to one billion euros. The main structure should be completed in around four to four and a half years, but with installation, testing and start up phases, full opening is scheduled for 2032. “A hospital isn’t built in a day,” Moreno reminded those present, asking for patience over the disruption that construction will cause.
The president of Málaga Provincial Council, Francisco Salado, called the hospital “the cornerstone of Málaga’s future and the Andalusian healthcare system.” He said it will not only provide care, but also act as “a hub for innovation, research, training, and attracting healthcare talent,” helping to place Málaga “at the forefront of European healthcare.” Málaga’s mayor, Francisco de la Torre, added that the project will finally tackle the “public hospital deficit” in the city, where bed numbers have lagged behind other parts of Spain and Andalucía.
Moreno said the name Virgen de la Esperanza “is a perfect fit,” because hope is “the hope of receiving professional care to guarantee what is most precious to us: health and life.” With the work now under way, he said the Junta de Andalucía is starting to “fulfil the commitment made to the citizens of Malaga” and to settle an “outstanding debt” after almost twenty years of waiting.Image: Ayuntamiento de Málaga
