No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeCovid 19 UpdatesPanama says it will enable 'abandoned' hospital for Covid-19

Panama says it will enable ‘abandoned’ hospital for Covid-19

The Panamanian government said Monday it will enable an unfinished hospital to care for Covid-19 patients.

The hospital’s construction, the government denounces, was “abandoned” by the Spanish company FCC, owned by Mexican magnate Carlos Slim.

“The work has been abandoned by the contractor,” Enrique Lau, director of the Panamanian Social Security Fund (CSS), told AFP during a visit to this hospital complex, called Ciudad de la Salud, accompanied by deputies and officials of the Comptroller’s Office.

“We have come to see the conditions” of the hospital in order to establish “the things that must be done to be able to finish the work, but within the framework of the law,” Lau added.

However, the official said that despite the fact that the work “has not yet been delivered,” Panamanian health authorities intend to enable a part of the hospital with 300 beds to care for patients with the coronavirus.

The Spanish company Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) won a bid from the CSS in 2011 for $554 million to build the City of Health.

The project, located on the outskirts of Panama City, planned for 17 buildings, more than 1,700 beds, 50 operating rooms and 300 doctor’s offices across some 220,000 square meters.

But the works were paralyzed in 2015 due to alleged irregularities in the building and the materials used.

“The company has not breached the contract at any time” and the project’s extension is due to “causes not attributable to the contractor,” Isaac Figueroa, of FCC’s legal team, said recently.

Now Slim’s company is demanding $125 million and the termination of the original contract due to the pandemic, despite the fact that a third of the works are still missing.

Panama, with four million inhabitants, has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in Central America, with 2,257 deaths and more than 106,000 infections.

Panamanian authorities fear that the reopening of several economic sectors in the country and the end of the quarantine will cause a re-outbreak of the pandemic.

Despite the disagreements, Lau considers an agreement with FCC viable so that “in a concerted manner” the Panamanian government can “make use of the facilities.”

“It is regrettable every day that passes without doing anything. [This case] threatens the health of the population,” Lau said.

A Spanish court has charged FCC with allegedly paying bribes in Panama for $82 million over various projects, including the Ciudad de la Salud.

Trending Now

Costa Rica Faces Slower Growth and Rising Exchange Rate Pressures

Costa Rica is bracing for a challenging economic landscape through 2025 and into 2026, marked by slower growth, exchange rate pressures, and mounting uncertainties,...

UN Ocean Conference Opens with Push for Deep-Sea Mining Moratorium

The UN Ocean Conference began Monday in France with a call from Secretary-General António Guterres to prevent the ocean floor from becoming the “Wild...

Former Nicaraguan President Violeta Chamorro Dies in San José at 95

Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, Nicaragua’s first female president and a key figure in ending her country’s civil war, passed away peacefully this morning in...

Costa Rica Law Now Requires Corporations to Register an Email for Legal Notices

Costa Rica has recently approved a very important law which establishes a new obligation for commercial corporations, and that obligation is that they must...

Panama Police Clash with Protesters Over Pension Reform Near Costa Rica Border

Police and protesters clashed in Panama on Saturday during an operation to clear a highway near the Costa Rican border, where teachers and Indigenous...

Rising Seas Threaten Costa Rica’s Beaches and Communities by 2030

Costa Rica’s iconic coastlines, from Limón’s Caribbean shores to Guanacaste’s Pacific beaches, face growing threats from rising sea levels driven by climate change. The...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica