The draft budget for the Valencian Community for 2023 includes a potential multi million-euro investment in health infrastructure for the Vega Baja region, it was revealed this week.
This means that of the €157 million budgeted for Vega Baja by the Consell, 26% will go to Health. By health department, €30.4 million will be invested in Orihuela and €11m in Torrevieja.
In terms of overall health investment in the Alicante province, of the €173 million that the Ministry of Health plans to allocate to investments in health infrastructure in the province of Alicante, 41.4 million will go to Vega Baja. Of the entire provincial health investment planned for 2023 for the Alicante province, 24% will go exclusively to the region.
In Orihuela health department, with an investment of €30.4 million, the expansion of Vega Baja Hospital stands out among the projects planned. In August, the Minister for Health, Miguel Mínguez, presented the project at the hospital and at the end of October the works were awarded for €62.5 million. Work is expected to begin in early 2023. The hospital expansion is a multiannual investment, so for the 2023 budget, an item of €29.34 million is included for this. These works will increase the hospital by 40% with two new buildings attached to the current one and with an increase in capacity with 52 new beds.
Investments in Orihuela and Torrevieja Health Departments
In Orihuela health department, an investment of €400,000 euros is earmarked for a new auxiliary clinic in Redován, €200,000 euros for a new health centre in Algorfa, and the reform and expansion of the Albatera health centre (€500,000 euros).
For Torrevieja health department, the budget for 2023 amounts to 11 million euro. Of this, €8 million corresponds to the University Hospital, of which €5 million will be allocated to the expansion of the hospital itself and €3 million to the incorporation of new equipment.
It also includes the expansion of Guardamar del Segura and Orihuela Costa health centres, both with an investment of one million euro each. In the latter, it is expected that the tender for the drafting of the project and construction management will be done before the end of this year. The budget includes a final million euro for the incorporation of new equipment distributed throughout the health department.
Budget breakdown
The Vega Baja is the only region in the Valencian Community that has specific itemised accounts within the framework of the Generalitat’s budgets. Of the 157 million budgeted for the region in 2023, health infrastructures are the second area with the highest investment (€41.4 million), very close to investments to reduce the risk of flooding (€42.9 million). The rest is distributed with €38.6 million for educational infrastructure, €17.4 for road infrastructure, €10.8 million for water treatment, €5.7 million for agricultural infrastructure and water use and €987,000 for other investments.