IMSS to build 3 hospitals in Mexico state

Mexico's national social security institute (IMSS) announced that it will invest over 2bn pesos (US$97.8mn) to build three specialty hospitals in Mexico state, according to an IMSS statement.

A 15-specialty hospital equipped with 90 beds will be built in the municipality of Atlacomulco to serve over half a million users.

Another 20-bed hospital will be erected in the southern municipality of Ixtapan de la Sal, while a third hospital with 260 beds will be located in Tepotzotlán, north of Mexico City.

The investment also includes the construction of a family care clinic in Ecatepec, the most populous municipality of Mexico state.

According to the IMSS, construction of the three hospitals is part of the institute's national investment plan for 2016-2018, which entails building 12 hospitals and 40 family medicine clinics, at least one in every Mexican state, with a 20bn-peso investment.

For this year, IMSS has already announced the construction of two family care clinics in Guerrero state, which will require a combined investment of 2.5bn pesos, and a 1bn-peso hospital in Hidalgo state.

In order to offset the cuts in public spending that Mexico has been facing for the past couple of years, the Mexican congress approved the construction of four other IMSS hospitals under public-private partnership models. Tenders for two of them were already launched last year, while the remaining two will be tendered and awarded under 25-year concessions this year.