THE NEW Nicosia general hospital will be ready by July 2004, Health Minister Frixos Savvides told the House Health Committee yesterday.
Construction of the new hospital started in 1996, and it was due to be complete by February this year.
In April, however, the deadline was pushed back to June 2003. Then the contractor requested a further extension and more money.
After negotiations, the government agreed to a new deadline of July 2004, pushing up the cost of the project from the initial estimate of £38 million to around £50 million.
Savvides told deputies yesterday that the new date was July 2004, adding that his ministry was not responsible for finding who was to blame for the delays.
The minister assured deputies that all arrangements were being made for the smooth transfer to the new hospital without causing problems to patients.
Chairman of the committee Antonis Karas said the issue of the delays had repeatedly been raised by the committee, and as a result the state mechanism was mobilised to come to a final agreement with the contractor.
Savvides said the negotiations had achieved two objectives: to set a deadline for the delivery of the project, and to provide for penalties in the event of further delays.
AKEL deputies Doros Christodoulides and Kyriacos Tyrimos nevertheless charged the delays were unjustifiable and that someone had to take the blame, as they have cost taxpayers considerable amounts of money.
Speaking after the meeting, Savvides said he was satisfied an agreement had been reached in order for the ministry to start making plans concerning equipment for the hospital.
Earlier on, Savvides said preparations were under way for ordering the new equipment and training personnel.
He said the ministry was not sure, however, whether to order the new MRI equipment now and install it somewhere else, and not in the old hospital as conditions there were bad.
He added, however, that it would be difficult then to prepare a suitable place at the new hospital and move the MRI there.
DIKO deputy Marios Matsakis said health authorities had found a microbe in the old hospital that could even cause deaths. He said it was very difficult to eradicate this drug-resistant microbe and it was one more reason to move the hospital to its new location as soon as possible.
Savvides said the particular microbe could be found in every hospital around the world and it was not something that stemmed from the age of the building.
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