Mega hospital project walls to be replaced

THE $587 MILLION City Hospital project touted in the run up to the 2014 election as one of the  “achievements”  of the Martinelli years  remains unfinished  and major construction shortcuts have been revealed. 

Social Security Director Estivenson Giron revealed on Monday, April 27, that a preliminary audit of the work showed that the internal walls of the structure erected by Spanish company Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) were made of plasterboard, which is similar to gypsum and do not have the strength to support the structure, and will have to be replaced with concrete blocks.
About 70,000 linear meters of plasterboard will have to be replaced, resulting in delays and an additional $4 million cost
According to Giron, the original contract stipulated that the internal walls be made of cement blocks. But former Social Security officials authorized FCC to change the materials.
Giron met with FCC officials Monday to discuss the future of the troubled project.
José Batista, a former president of the Panamanian Society of Engineers and Architects (SPIA), explained that there have been concerns about the project since the beginning. Those concerns were about the location, the concept and the design of the work.
He said the location, near the Camino de Cruces National Park, is too far from areas of Panama City, making it difficult for people to get to. It is also located near an agricultural market, which was deemed inappropriate. It is likely that the market will have to be relocated repors La Prensa.
He added said the trend in the construction of medical facilities is moving toward smaller hospitals that are easy to reach, rather than mega-projects.
He was also critical of the choice of building materials, saying similar problems were encountered in the construction of the Luis Chicho Fabrega Hospital in Veragua