Galicia
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New Vigo Hospital, the never ending story
The private financing process has been full of traps and irregularities:
The project was presented by the emergency process so as not to have to present a comparative study of the different possibilities of financing and construction of the public infrastructure, unavoidable requirement in the ordinary process.This urgency contrasts with the delay of the start of the work.
On September 27, 2010, the Directorate of Economic Resources of Sergas awarded Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) a contract to advise the evaluation of bidding offers of the new hospital project and for the selection of companies that should finance and build it, for a amount of 220,660 euros.
HeContract was awarded by the consultant to a consortium composed of A.Mediterranean (CAM), entities that at that time had received the worst solvency grades from the Bank of Spain.It is striking that in one of the selected construction companies (OCA) will occupy a position of maximum responsibility the former Consalleiro Agustín Hernández, who subsequently returns to the Government of the Xunta (PP) and that at the beginning of the work the company Erros Santa Cruzwhose unique administrator was Telmo Martín, popular councilor in the City of Pontevedra and the main defender of the privatization of his public hospital and subsequently elected deputy to the Congress by the PP.
To favor the economic ball to these concessionary companies, with a waste of especially serious resources in times of crisis and restrictions in public health, the PWC establishes conditions that force the Department to pay the concessionaire 1,566,4Millions of euros (fee of 71 million euros per year) to which it should be added 256.1 million euros of the parking lot, stores and commercial premises.This means a total of 1,108, 8 million above the public financing (SPI) initially planned.Concessionary companies were guaranteed a business benefit of 8%, without assuming any risk.
Cuts in the PFI project
The initial project contemplated an endowment of 1,465 beds, 35 operating rooms, 160 external consultations and 62 image diagnostic rooms.However, the company of the company in charge of the surveillance and technical assistance of the works, Gerens Hill International, showed that the private project of the hospital was going to have 900 beds.
In subsequent studies of the administration itself it was recognized that the surface was reduced by 70,000 square meters as well as in most of the planned services.
Changes were also introduced into the access roads, in the parking lot, which goes from 4,350 to 3,600 places and in the environmental contour.There are also cuts in the endings of the consultations, operating rooms, ICU, exploration rooms, magnetic resonance rooms, patient rooms, nursery, emergency boxes and other dependencies.There are changes in facades, windows and closures;Modifications in pavements, paintings, interior coatings, false ceilings, fixed furniture and large energy facilities, all with the purpose of lowering costs to construction companies, reducing resources, equipment and construction quality.Despite this, the Canon's amount to be paid by the Public Administration was not modified to private awarding.
On the other hand, the City of Vigo refuses to assume the undertaken of the infrastructure, electricity supply, sanitation and supply, based on the defense of the public nature of the new hospital and disagree with the privatization of the project by the government of the Xunta de la Xunta de la XuntaGalicia.
The center opens repeatedly, but in reality it is stopped
The president of the Xunta, Alberto Núñez Feijoo, went to Vigo to inaugurate the works of the new hospital on March 21, 2011 - two months and one day before the municipal elections - when the works had not yet started formally, and returned toOpening them on September 20 of that year -two months before the general elections.Despite all the work officially began on June 25, 2011, six months after planning.On that same date the suspension of the start of the calculation of the execution period of the works for three months, such asThe winning company, audited by the consultant Ernst Young.
As a consequence of the abandonment of Bankia and CAM of the work of financing the work, the concessionaire has problems getting credits with which to finance the work.The construction price is calculated at 375 million euros, of which 75% (281) should come from long -term bank loans, according to the bidding contract.The construction companies have already disbursed the 63 million that corresponded to them (20% of the cost) which allowed to initiate the work.However, the lack of liquidity of the concessionaire has forced companies to give money to their own society.On December 20, 2011, shareholders agree a loan of 7.88 million euros and less than a month later (January 12) another 7.88 million, as they have transferred to the Mercantile Registry.
Money partners are sought, which do not appear
To face this economic insolvency situation, the Department of Health has held different meetings with banking entities, although none has agreed to participate in the project.As a consequence, the Xunta de Galicia has requested a credit to the European Investment Bank (BCI) for 180 million euros to finance the work, breaking again the contract (tender) that specified that the financing of the center was at the risk and venture of theConcessionaireIt should be remembered that the justification for resorting to private financing (PFI) was that the Xunta could not borrow and yet it now does so to cover 58% of it.Anyway, the BCI does not give the money if the private part does not face 42% of the 375 million that the hospital's work costs, but neither the concessionaire is unable to face that expense nor are new banks be obtained to invest.
Now, and as if that were not enough, the company works roads and asphalt (OCA) has presented payment suspension, which further aggravates the financial problem of the concessionaire.The construction company OCA has 10 % of the capital (3.1 million euros) of the concessionary company, controlled by acting with 39 % of the capital, and the payments that the construction company does not make will have to take care of the rest of the companies.
For 10 months the works are stopped and it seems that the thing goes for long.
Vigo needs a new hospital urgently
Vigo's care problems accumulate with urgent services in permanent collapse and one of Galicia 'greatest waiting lists: 68.3% of surgical delays exceed the year and 22.8% of cases have more thantwo pending years, with an increase in the last four years of 64%.All this raises the need to have the new hospital as soon as possible.
The logical thing would be that, based on the breach of the NHV tender conditions by the concessionaire, both in terms of the resources and equipment project (which has been reduced by more than 30% on the expected)The execution deadlines and especially of the financing commitment, the Xunta de Galicia denounced the contract and resumes the initial public financing project through the Public Society of Research of Galicia (SPI) with the financial support of the European Investment Bank.This would immediately restart the work and reduce the cost of construction by more than a quarter, in addition to recovering the initial project, providing Vigo with an advanced and reference hospital and guaranteeing the public nature of the center, which would be managed in a mannerintegral by public administration.
Only the ideological stubbornness and unconfessable commitments of Núñez Feijoo, which make it hostage of the concessionaire, explainThe paralysis of this situation, which in an intolerable impact on the health and quality of life of the population of Vigo and its health area.