The expansion of the Tacoronte health center is an endless action. The works, started in 2019, were paralyzed, with successive promises to resume them, although they finally had to be re-tendered because the company gave up due to changes in building regulations, the increase in material costs and the pauses caused by the changes in the project, not initially contemplated.
This is confirmed to this newspaper by municipal sources, who add that the Department of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands foresees the imminent incorporation of one million euros to the initial budget, which amounts to 2,964,335 euros with the aim of unlocking them through a new bidding process that is intended to become effective in the first quarter of next year.
The local Executive celebrates the decision announced by the department headed by Esther Monzón, and hopes that after confirming the future contract, a priority project for the city, which should have been ready in June 2021, can be successfully concluded without new setbacks.
In March of last year its resumption was announced but it was never resumed. The temporary stoppage was initially related to the coronavirus health crisis and months later, to the absence of duly identified phases for the timely implementation of transfers within the center. Added to all this was the necessary adaptation and legalization of the low-voltage electrical installation of the old building, according to the new work. This situation, not contemplated at the beginning, led to the processing of a modified project and an increase in costs, which led to the total suspension of the work.
The City Council has been demanding, without success, the necessary responses to continue the work started at the beginning of the last term, and which made possible the development of only a quarter of the projected total of the 820 square meters that are planned to increase.
Now, the same sources point out, they trust that all the necessary measures and actions will be adopted to give “absolute priority” to this situation, with the corresponding investment and the greatest speed to complete “as soon as possible” the improvements demanded by the center, which provides Primary Care services in the Tacoronte-El Sauzal Basic Health Zone, with 30,412 users with an Individual Health Card (TSI).
