Astaldi Concessioni S.R.L. has been awarded the concession contract for construction and operation of the new Santiago Occidente Metropolitan hospital in Santiago, Chile.

The total investment amounts to €236 million (US$320 million), of which €151 million are for construction activities.

The concession contract includes the design, build, financing, operation of commercial and non-medical services and maintenance for a period of 20 years with 52 months for construction activities and 15 years for operation activities. The contract also includes the supply and maintenance of electromedical equipment and furniture.

The project has been commissioned by Chile's Ministry of Public Works and will be funded through private funds. The total investment will be repaid through approximately €500 million of total concession revenues, 95% of which is guaranteed in the form of availability payments.

The hospital was severely damaged during the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the country's central-southern regions in February 2010. The new hospital will have 10 floors and will offer 523 beds and 599 car parks for a total surface area of 120,000 sq. m.

MOP's hospital concessions program is part of the government's new wave of concessioned public infrastructure, which calls for the concession of 11 hospitals between 2010 and 2014, with total investment reaching US$2.2 billion. The program includes capital Santiago's Salvador Geriatric Hospital, Félix Bulnes, Sótero del Río and Puento Alto hospitals; region VII's Curicó and Linares hospitals; region VIII's Chillán hospital; and region V's Provincial de Marga-Marga and Biprovincial de Quillota-Petorca hospitals.

In early February Chile's Public Ministries of Works and Health announced that the consortium "Consorcio de Salud Santiago Oriente" formed by Assignia Infraestructura (Spain), Constructora y Edificadora GIA-A (Mexico), and Constructora Cosal (Chile) submitted the best proposal to develop the concession of the Salvador Geriatric Hospital and the National Institute of Geriatrics.

In May, we published that new Chilean government had conducted an analysis that shows that construction costs of concessions hospitals  are more expensive than the costs of those built through a traditional method. The local press reported that the award of the hospital concessions could be halted, however this has not been the case.