Architects chosen for new Negev hospital

There has been progress in promoting planning of the new hospital to be built in Beersheva. "Globes" has learned that representatives of Sheba Medical Center, the Meuhedet and Leumit health funds, Beersheva municipality, and the Ministry of Health have studied four proposals from architect firms that presented construction alternatives to the master plan for the hospital that will be promoted through the planning pipeline. The winning firm is Rubinstein Ofer with Canadian architects Tye Farrow. The estimated cost of construction is about NIS 3 billion, not including the planning (about NIS 300 million) and the equipment (about NIS 1 billion).

The cost of planning and approving the master plan by the architects firms is about NIS 3 million of the total NIS 300 million planning costs. According to the selected plan, in phase one as approved by the latest government decision, a "general" hospital will be built covering 180,000 square meters, with an emergency room and 600 beds, alongside diagnostic and emergency services departments, hospitalization departments, institutes and clinics. 1,000 underground parking spaces will also be built. The master plan and the 400 dunam (100 acres) area allocated allow for expansion to 2,000 beds. In 2025, tenders worth hundreds of millions of shekels will be issued to advance planning and construction.

At least six years until the emergency room opens

Sheba Medical Center architect Tal Einhorn told "Globes," "The plan guarantees flexibility and infrastructure for the expansion of the first phase in the future." In terms of schedules, she says, "We are committed to opening the emergency room, which is the most complex in terms of infrastructure and construction, in 2031. There may be departments or clinics that will open a little earlier. In other words, we have a total six years to plan, issue tenders, and as well as the construction itself, which will take 3.5 years."

In May 2024, the final decision to move ahead with construction of the hospital in Beersheva was approved, which included amending previous government decisions from 2014 and 2022. In other words, this is a process that has lasted about a decade. In 2014, when it was decided to build the new hospital, it was decided that it would be called "Peres Hospital," and that it would be located near the Sara Interchange, which connects Highway 25 and Highway 40. It was also decided that it would have 1,900 beds - more than any other hospital in the country at the moment (Ichilov and Sheba, for example, have about 1,500 beds). The original target date for launching the hospital was 2025.

Sheba Medical Center director general Prof. Yitshak Kreiss said, "Establishing the Negev Health City is much more than a hospital - it is a vision that will change the face of the entire region. The Negev Health City, for which a budget of about NIS 300 million has been allocated for the planning phase, will not only provide the most advanced medicine and reduce health inequalities, but will also attract the best minds and talents in the field of medicine. The selection of the company to design the master plan is another significant step in realizing the Zionist vision in the Negev."

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 11, 2024