The president of the Junta assures that the centre will continue to operate and that only some services will be reorganised when the Virgen de la Esperanza opens, scheduled for 2032 with an investment of 1 billion euros.
The Carlos Haya hospital in Málaga will remain open when the new Virgen de la Esperanza becomes operational. This has been guaranteed by the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, during the assessment of his management and the presentation of plans for the community and the province, as reported by Diario Sur. Moreno specified that one centre will not close to open another and that, when the new hospital begins to operate, only some services will be redistributed or reorganised.
The Andalusian president contrasted this planning with what he termed the "iron centralism" of the PSOE era, a period during which, he claimed, not a single healthcare infrastructure was built in 35 years, leaving the province with the lowest ratios of beds, doctors, and nurses per inhabitant in the region and the country.
The Virgen de la Esperanza will be the third hospital in the capital and, as Moreno detailed, the largest in Andalucía and the second largest in Spain. Its completion is scheduled for 2032, with an investment of 1 billion euros, state-of-the-art technology, and the arrival of the metro to its facilities.
In the healthcare chapter, the president announced that the Pascual hospital will begin operating in weeks to ease the care burden on the Regional Hospital. The CARE de El Palo, conceived as a mini-hospital, will be completed next year after an investment of 20 million euros. These actions are complemented by 75 million in the Costa del Sol Hospital and the planning of a large health centre in Rincón de la Victoria.
Regarding the Citac project, the non-profit organisation to promote oncological research and therapeutic innovation, Moreno stated: "The Junta maintains the best disposition and will hold a meeting in October to analyse administrative issues and the formula that allows for its participation." The president added that there are still technical and legal hurdles to overcome.
On the economic front, he described Málaga as an example of transformation and leadership. The province is the Andalusian region where the most companies have been established, with over 66,600 firms. It accounts for 27% of the Social Security affiliates in the community, with 705,000 affiliates, and concentrates 25% of Andalusian self-employed workers, with 147,000 freelancers. Exports have grown by 66% to a historic high.
Andalucía surpasses 250,000 companies registered with Social Security and has accumulated eight consecutive years of growth above the Spanish and European averages. The industrial sector now represents 22% of employment, contributes a third of growth, and has increased its turnover by 9.4%, more than double the national average.
In energy, the region has tripled its renewable capacity to 20,000 MW and achieves 73% energy sovereignty, with projects like the Green Hydrogen Valley, which anticipates an investment of 3 billion euros. In the fiscal section, revenue has risen by 70%, with 3.5 billion more, despite having implemented seven tax cuts.
Public works underway in the province exceed 1.57 billion euros, including 21 hydraulic works and the development of the metro, which, after reaching the Centre, is projected to be underground to the Civil Hospital.
Moreno has harshly criticised the central government of Pedro Sánchez, accusing it of being the "government that has done the most damage to Andalucía" and stated that "there is no community treated worse." He denounced that in eight years only 3.5 kilometres of motorway have been built in a region the size of Portugal and not a single centimetre of suburban rail, which has resulted in a loss of passengers, quality, and schedules, with no improvements in Medium Distance or on the Málaga-Sevilla line.
The president pointed out that the AVE de Málaga suffers the most delays in all of Spain and has lost 30% of its passengers, while the airports of Málaga and Sevilla are congested or on the verge of being so. He labelled state promises that require ten years for development as electoral announcements.
On the energy front, he lamented that the State invests 40% less per inhabitant in the Andalusian electricity grid compared to what it should, which blocks major industrial and housing projects, alongside the absence of state waterworks during the drought.
Moreno reminded that the community faces a financing deficit exceeding 4 billion euros, in a context where 15 autonomous communities, including Asturias, have voted against the current model. He advocated for a national framework regarding tourist taxes and appealed to the people of Andalucía to express their stance with their vote to assert the weight of the third community in Spain.
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