The planning authority today approved a permit for an expansion of Mater Dei hospital’s emergency ward, which will also include a national crisis unit.

The permit extends the original given for two floors to a building consisting of five storeys plus an additional basement level. These will accommodate emergency wards and the national crisis unit.

The application, filed by the CEO of the Foundation for Medical Services, requested the relocation of the permit granted so the extension will now be built adjacent, rather than on top, of the emergency unit.

This occurred after government was advised the structure of the emergency unit was too weak to support the additional floors.

In the new building, one floor will host a ward containing 68 beds, reception area, treatment rooms and other utility areas while the second and third floors will serve as a national crisis unit.

The building height will be just over 23 metres - at its highest point, the proposed extension will not exceed the height of the other blocks within Mater Dei.

Transport Malta stated the proposed development would not generate additional traffic because the scope of the development was not to increase the hospital’s capacity but to enable the existing capacity to be served better.

Within two months from the issue of the development permit, the foundation has to submit an update to the environmental permit application since the building has now expanded. But in a memorandum the Environment Protection Directorate noted that there was no objection to the proposal from an environmental point of view.

The relocation of the original plans was necessary after multinational engineering firm Arup advised government that the emergency ward was too weak to support another two floors.

The original 68-bed project, awarded to Attard Bros and Mekkanika last April, had to be finished by June.

However, it is unclear whether a new tender will have to be issued since this is effectively a new project. It is also unclear how the new project will be financed.

The previous project was estimated to cost €11.2 million, 85 per cent of which would be covered by the EU.

 

 

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