article_detail

Plans for a private hospital in Orihuela Costa are finally moving ahead, with construction work on the site expected to begin in April.

 

The developer of the El Barranco sector has submitted the project to prepare a 33,304-square-metre plot between calles Pimienta and Clavo, the Villamartín road and Los Dolses. The public consultation period is now open.

 

Once the groundwork is done, the plan is to have a private clinic with operating rooms up and running by the end of the year. The developers, Espiral de Inversiones y Patrimonio and Inmuebles del Sol, are in advanced talks with two healthcare companies about building and managing the centre.

 

The site will also include a small shopping centre. A nursing home was considered but has been scrapped.

 

Located in La Zenia's commercial area, about 500 metres from the AP-7 motorway, the development will feature a two-storey building. Most of the land will be green spaces, roads and footpaths, with 16,000 square metres set aside for commercial and healthcare use.

 

The twelve-month construction period will cover everything from clearing the land to installing public lighting, paving, water, electricity and drainage networks. A vegetated drainage ditch will prevent water from flowing directly onto the Villamartín road, and the green area will have benches, tables and two playgrounds.

 

The developers say the hospital will serve an area with around 30,000 year-round residents, including a large number of foreign residents who typically use private insurance. Those numbers swell significantly during the peak tourist season.

 

Currently, Orihuela Costa only has one health centre with serious limitations. The area has been waiting years for either an expansion of the Aguamarina clinic or a new facility. After a long wait, the council has now taken on responsibility for building a new centre in the Villa Rosa area with around €8 million in funding from the Valencian government.

 

The coastal area does have two hospitals in nearby Torrevieja: the public University Hospital and the private Quirón Hospital. The Ribera healthcare group has also requested land in Lomas de Cabo Roig for another private hospital.

 

After more than six years of processing, the El Barranco project has reached its final phase. Mayor Pepe Vegara signed off on the environmental assessment, which determined the development won't have significant environmental impacts. However, conditions include protecting endangered species like the cat's-head rockrose and Tudorela mauretanica snail, as well as the declining sand martin population. Invasive plants will need to be removed and native species planted in their place.