SNF resumes project of new public hospitals in Thessaloniki, Komotini, and Sparta

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) announced on Friday it would resume the project to build three public hospitals – in Thessaloniki, Komotini, and Sparta – after direct negotiations and an agreement signed with AVAX Group.

“The previous tender had been unsuccessful,” the Foundation said in a statement, “and we received much higher bids than anticipated – up to two and a half times the expected amount – as we shared in February. Subsequently, we initiated the necessary processes to find a way to make these vital projects feasible, for the benefit of the health sector in Greece and society at large.”

AVAX, one of the largest construction groups in Greece and Cyprus, signed an agreement on August 4 for start of construction on the SNF University Pediatric Hospital of Thessaloniki, the SNF General Hospital of Komotini, and the SNF General Hospital of Sparta. The three hospitals are part of SNF’s Global Health Initiative (GHI), which includes over 30 projects worth more than 1 billion USD in total and was signed with the Greek state in 2018. The three hospitals, SNF said, comprise “about half of the total budget (500 million USD). Upon completion, the hospitals will be delivered to the Greek State fully equipped.”

GHI’s projects include the procurement of specialized medical equipment, new aircraft for the air ambulance services of the National Center for Emergency Care (EKAV), training programs for healthcare professionals, and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Initiative in Greece.

Furthermore, collaborations with leading international organizations aim to strengthen public health around the world, such as Rockefeller University, Columbia University, and the Child Mind Institute in New York, the National Children’s Alliance across the United States, Sant Joan de Déu Children’s Hospital in Barcelona, the King Hussein Cancer Foundation and Center in Jordan, and Yorkshire Cancer Research in the United Kingdom.

SNF said a team would soon visit the three cities where the hospitals will be built “to provide the local communities with in-depth information on the new agreement for the three new public hospitals, in collaboration, of course, with the Ministry of Health, the relevant municipalities, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and local authorities.”