SNF resumes the construction process of the three new hospitals in Thessaloniki, Komotini, and Sparta

After many months of careful deliberation, we are pleased and honored to share that we have found a way forward for the three new public hospitals in Thessaloniki, Komotini, and Sparta, as SNF Co-President Andreas Dracopoulos referenced in his opening remarks at the 2023 SNF Nostos Conference, and the construction process for all three hospitals has resumed. The previous tender had been unsuccessful, and we received much higher bids than anticipated—up to two and a half times the expected amount—as we shared in February. Subsequently, we initiated the necessary processes to find a way to make these vital projects feasible, for the benefit of the health sector in Greece and society at large. With the help of Hill International, Renzo Piano and the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Betaplan, and through direct negotiations, the final contractor will be AVAX Group, one of the largest construction groups in Greece and Cyprus. The agreement for the start of construction for the SNF General Hospital of Komotini, the SNF University Pediatric Hospital of Thessaloniki, and the SNF General Hospital of Sparta was signed today, Friday, August 4, 2023. The increase in the budget for these projects brings SNF’s total commitment to the Global Health Initiative (GHI) to more than $1 billion, with the three new hospitals comprising about half of the total budget ($500 million). Upon completion, the hospitals will be delivered to the Greek State fully equipped.

Since 2017, when SNF announced its intention to fully support a number of pivotal projects to strengthen the public health sector in Greece, and since 2018, when signing the Memorandum of Understanding between the Hellenic Republic and SNF to officially launch the Global Health Initiative (GHI), the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to do its utmost to ensure that each of the diverse and ever-growing grants come to fruition. The Global Health Initiative (GHI) comprises more than 30 individual projects, including the procurement of specialized medical equipment, new aircraft for the air ambulance services of the National Center for Emergency Care (EKAV), training programs for healthcare professionals, and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Initiative in Greece. Furthermore, collaborations with leading international organizations aim to strengthen public health around the world, such as Rockefeller University, Columbia University, and the Child Mind Institute in New York, the National Children’s Alliance across the U.S., Sant Joan de Déu Children’s Hospital in Barcelona, the King Hussein Cancer Foundation and Center in Jordan, and Yorkshire Cancer Research in the U.K.

Given the Stavros Niarchos Foundation’s (SNF) focus on the implementation of the Global Health Initiative (GHI) in its entirety, SNF will continue to assess applications for support, but will do so in a much more selective way, as we have already shared in previous announcements and on our website.

We will soon announce the SNF team’s schedule of visits to Komotini, Thessaloniki, and Sparta to provide the local communities with in-depth information on the new agreement for the three new public hospitals, in collaboration, of course, with the Ministry of Health, the relevant municipalities, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and local authorities.