'All systems go' for completion of Ronda's new hospital

2016-08-28 10:00:00

Finishing touches are being made to Ronda’s new district hospital. Both the Junta de Andalucía regional government and the local town hall hope the facility will open before the end of the summer.
Work is being carried out by Aqualia to link sewage piping to the town’s network. They are also in the process of connecting the mains water supply. Both these services and the work to connect the gas and electricity mains supply weren’t in the original plans.
Mayor of Ronda, Teresa Valdenbro, has explained that these four utilities need to run through a new service tunnel to avoid interfering with the busy Ronda-Marbella main road that runs alongside the building. Now work has started, politicians want to see the medical facility operational in about six weeks.
The Junta has also begun to buy 300,000 euros’ worth of supplies for the building and installing a pedestrian access route.
However, local community action group, “Nuevo hospital ¡¡ya!!”, are unhappy and have repeated claims that this access route will be unsafe.
They have also criticised the range of services that will be offered and the “broken promises”.
Work started on the building in 2008 and the original, planned opening date was set for 2012, however this has been repeatedly delayed.
Residents also fear that the opening will be in phases without all services being available immediately.
The 20,000-square-metre hospital has cost some 50 million euros and will serve 85,000 residents in Ronda and surrounding villages.source surinenglish