Costa Rican authorities on Thursday announced the initiation of earthworks tasks for the new Monseñor Sanabria Hospital in Puntarenas.
“Puntarenas will have the Caja’s most ambitious project in the 21st century. This new hospital will be a modern, innovative and highly technological center; it is the hospital model of the future. This historic news fills us with satisfaction,” said President Carlos Alvarado.
The new Monseñor Sanabria hospital will cost $225 million and will be Costa Rica’s largest hospital project since Hospital Mexico was built in the 1960s. The construction area will be 72,132 square meters and will be located on a 150,000 square meter site.
Earthworks tasks will last until February 2022, after which construction will begin. The Presidency this week didn’t provide an estimated completion date but has said the new hospital won’t be fully ready until 2030. (Some services should open before then.)
When fully operational, the new Hospital Monseñor Sanabria is expected to feature interventional cardiology and chemotherapy equipment to provide advanced care for patients without requiring a trip to major medical centers in San José.
Puntarenas has been in dire need of a new hospital since a 2012 earthquake damaged the current Hospital Monseñor Sanabria building.
At the time, Caja experts concluded that only three floors of the hospital were safe enough to remain operational and recommended the demolition of seven floors. In addition, they reinforced the remaining structure.
