ZAGREB, April 12, 2024 (Hina) – The Health Ministry on Friday presented a conceptual design for the construction of a national children’s hospital in Zagreb’s southwestern district of Blato.

The hospital is “of strategic importance for the most vulnerable social group – children, as well as for the entire public health system,” Health Minister Vili Beroš said.

Gordan Šanić, Director of Finance at the Health Ministry, said that the first phase of construction is expected to begin in early 2026 and finish in March 2029. “The second phase is also under consideration given the great significance of the hospital,” he added.

First carbon zero hospital in Europe

Šanić noted that it will be the first carbon zero hospital in Europe.

The total value of the first phase of construction is €225 million plus Value Added Tax. Of this amount, €40 million will come from the EU and the rest from the state budget.

Almost all energy, or more precisely up to 84 per cent, will come from renewable sources, partly from solar sources and partly from geothermal sources that abound at the location where the hospital will be built.

The conceptual design was developed by the UPI2M company.

“This hospital has been talked about for forty years, but now very concrete steps have been taken. I hope we will see the end of this decade in the new children’s hospital,” said Goran Roić, Director of the Zagreb’s Children’s Hospital.