Another 24 million euros will be allocated to build the Ferizaj hospital, a project that began in 2018. After contracts, complaints, and the sending of cases to the Prosecutor's Office, the Minister of Health, Arben Vitia, has announced that he has signed the contract to continue the works.
According to his announcement, the project will be finalized in 30 months and will cost around 24 million euros.
"I have signed the contract for the continuation of works at the Ferizaj Hospital. After many challenges and inherited and new difficulties, this project will be finalized within 30 months. This is a very important project for this region, which will be implemented according to the highest standards of hospital infrastructure, at a cost of 24 million euros. Congratulations to all the citizens of Ferizaj for this long-awaited project," Vitia wrote.
However, these are not the first millions allocated for this project.
KOHA had reported in 2021 that the Ministry of Health alleged that the company that had the contract for the construction of the facility had committed millions of abuses. As of 2018, only the rough work had been completed. The company then requested a review of the project and additional millions, but this was not approved by the Ministry of Health. The Ministry had filed a criminal complaint against the company alleging that it had committed "public procurement fraud". According to the claim, the company had won the contract by setting initial prices much higher than the real ones on the market and the final works below the market price. The company, according to the Ministry of Health, has taken the money from positions with inflated prices, while when it had to carry out those that are below the market price, it has requested a review of the project and an additional 5 million euros.
Meanwhile, at the end of January this year, Minister Vitia was interviewed by the Special Prosecution Office regarding the lawsuit that the economic operator had filed against the Ministry. The political advisor of Viti, Durim Elshani, had said that the Prosecution was put into motion immediately after the contractor sued the Ministry of Health, while recalling that the Ministry has been suing the contractor for years.
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Another 24 million euros for the Ferizaj Hospital that started almost a decade ago
According to documents obtained at the time, the total value of the initial project was 10.2 million euros, with an additional 1 million euros added for additional work. The company was seeking another 5 million to complete the project.
And in March 2024, the Ministry of Health contracted a company to redesign the hospital. It was said that the works would continue after the redesign was completed. The redesign cost 67 thousand euros.
In the notice for the award of the new contract, its title is for “construction of the general hospital facility in Ferizaj – continuation of the project”. The project was won by a group of economic operators. The contract states that the matter has also been addressed by the Procurement Review Body.
