Panama opens hospital in Los Santos province

The rebuilt Anita Moreno regional hospital, in Panama's Los Santos province, was opened by President Juan Carlos Varela on Tuesday.

Construction and equipping of the new facility, located in La Villa de Los Santos, required investments of US$107mn, the Panamanian government said in a release.

The first phase of the facility, which involved the construction of a psychiatric hospital, was opened in February 2017.

More than 200,000 people in the country's Azuero region will benefit from the new infrastructure.

The contract for the project was awarded as part of a package of hospital contracts in 2010 to consortium IBT Health, which was comprised of IBT, Carimex, and Riogersa, with works beginning soon after.

The facility has 257 beds and will offer general services and some specialties.

Although the hospital was initially expected to be completed within three years, works were halted in 2014 when the project had advanced 30% due to a dispute between the consortium and the previous government.

Speaking at the opening event, Varela said that his government had to renegotiate the terms of the contract with the consortium in order to move the works forward. Authorities were able to save US$33mn in construction costs due to the negotiation process, the president said.

Pictured: Varela (center) tours the recently opened hospital. CREDIT: Presidencia de Panamá.