AZ SINT-MAARTEN HOSPITAL MECHELEN (B)

Construction of a building for a general hospital on a new site in the city of Mechelen, merging 3 existing hospitals.

By merging the services on one single site, the project will lead to the reorganisation of service delivery, of logistics and to an improvement of the general functioning of the hospital. Unit-cost reductions, shorter patients’ stays, greater comfort are expected results of the operation. More generally, healthcare being an element of social cohesion, the project will have positive social benefits.

Hospitals are not specifically mentioned in the EIA Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment, though the project may be covered by Annex II of the Directive in relation to urban development. The Bank’s services will verify during appraisal whether an EIA is required and the screening decision of the competent authority.

The Promoter is required to respect national and EU legislation applicable to public authorities’ procurement and the Bank requires that all relevant contracts for the implementation of the projects have been, or will be, tendered in accordance with the relevant EU procurement legislation. The procurement practices for the investment project will be examined during appraisal.