The President of the Regional Government said today that the sale of the Nélio Mendonça Hospital property is not an “effective” decision and that it will only be decided in the future. He further reiterated that a more financially viable solution is to utilise the area to build controlled cost housing. Miguel Albuquerque considered that this is the best option to amortise the share that the Region will have to invest in the cost of the new hospital.
“This is an issue that will only be decided after 2030, and I will no longer be here,” he began by saying, initially alluding to the end of the current term. However, asked later to clarify whether he is not considering a re-candidacy, Albuquerque avoided giving a conclusive answer.
About the Nélio Mendonça Hospital building, the governor assured that the Executive “does not make knee-jerk decisions,” and that a technical study was carried out to understand how much it would cost to convert the infrastructure into a home for the elderly.
“The current cost estimates are 107 million euros. Maintaining an infrastructure that is almost 60 years old, adapting it to the new legislation for homes, has very high costs,” said the head of the Government, reiterating the intention to take advantage of the area to build housing at controlled costs. “But that’s a question that will be decided in the future, I’m not the one who will decide.”
Miguel Albuquerque stressed that the amortisation of the investment in the new hospital with the allocation of the Nélio Mendonça hospital property had already been defined in the Council of Ministers, still in the government of António Costa.
“It is necessary to remember that Madeira’s share is not the Government’s. The money belongs to the taxpayers. It’s all of us. We, the taxpayers of the Region, will have to pay the share of the new hospital,” he stressed, adding that it is necessary to “look to the future.” “This will certainly be higher than 250 million euros, so if we manage to have revenues to amortise the payment for the new hospital, I think it is logical.”
Asked about the reaction to the announcement last week, the President of the Regional Government downplayed current criticism, stating:
“I’m not afraid of the bad things people say about me on social networks.”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
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