The Portuguese government has approved the launch of a public-private partnership to design, build, finance and operate the new Central Hospital of the Algarve (HCA) in southern Portugal. 

The long-planned new hospital, two decades in the making, is advancing with the opening of an international public tender to award a management contract under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. The contract will cover the design, planning, construction, financing, upkeep, maintenance and operation of the HCA. Approval of the PPP comes after a comprehensive assessment by the Algarve Regional Health Administration (ARS) and the Central Administration of the Health System (ACSS), which evaluated the project’s economic impact, cost-effectiveness and the overall suitability of the partnership structure. 

The approval paves the way for an international public tender to award the contract, pending formal State authorisation of the associated expenditure. The Government has set a maximum investment of €426.6 million (US$505 million), to be spread over 27 years with an annual ceiling of €50 million (US$59 million), and projects that the new facility will start operating in 2031.