https://www.laestrella.com.pa/nacional/220527/presidente-cortizo-entrega-orden-proceder-construccion-nuevo-hospital-colon

This Friday in the province of Colón, the President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, gave the order to proceed for the construction of the new Manuel Amador Guerrero hospital, the construction of commercial premises for handicrafts in La Feria and Buena Vista, as well as the protocol to freeze the price of fuel for transportation.

The investment in the work exceeds $256.3 million and it must be ready to operate in 30 months for the benefit of more than 260,000 inhabitants, informed the president, who stressed that the work has been waiting for more than 10 years for construction, but due to legal problems it was paralyzed.

“After complex negotiations, on December 1, 2021, our Government reached a transactional agreement with the IBT Health Consortium, which transferred the contracts, which was essential for a new company to restart and complete the construction works of this important facility. of health,” said Cortizo Cohen.

In 30 months, the new Manuel Amador Guerrero hospital should be finished, equipped and ready to operate with its 22 interconnected buildings, which will house administration, outpatient clinic, emergency room, laboratories, nine operating rooms and 477 beds, among others. Currently the project has a physical progress of 18%.

The contract for the study, design, construction, equipment and financing of the hospital was awarded to the Consortium of Medical Facilities of Panama, made up of Promotora y Desarrollodora Mexicana de Infraestructura, SA (Proinfra), REC Engineering, SA and the company Transeq, SA 

In addition to the order to proceed from the new hospital, the president delivered the order to proceed for the construction of premises for the sale of handicrafts, which will be located in La Feria and Buena Vista, as well as signed the Executive Decree that sets the price at $3.95 of the gallon of fuel for public land transportation of passengers and establishes a fuel voucher for the commercial land fleet and registered rolling agricultural machinery.

Protest

In the midst of President Cortizo’s visit, a group of protesters burned tires on the premises of the Governor’s Office, an action that led the National Police units to station themselves at the entrance of the entity to prevent the complainants from entering the premises.

Meanwhile, another group of colonenses closed the main access road to the city of Colón, again cutting off the province, and drivers had to use the alternate routes of France Field and the Colón Free Zone, to access or leave the Atlantic. city.

The demonstrators, among them supporters of the Coalition for the Unity of Colón (CUCO), have been supporting the protest for 18 days (May 9), due to the unfulfilled promises of the Government in infrastructure, education and the high rate of unemployment, among other demands.