One of Székesfehérvár's most important construction projects celebrated with a bush ceremony

The new internal medicine wing of the Saint George University Teaching Hospital of Fejér County was completed and reached its highest point on 15 September, and a bushwalking ceremony was held to mark the occasion.

The investment is one of the most important construction projects in Székesfehérvár, involving the implementation of Fejér-B.Á.L. Zrt. and Épkar Zrt. and the Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium (ÉKM) project, a 112-bed building and a corridor connecting it to the previously used part of the institution will be handed over. The foundation stone was laid in March 2022.

The new block will have a usable floor space of more than 6,100 square metres, with corridors covering approximately 1,000 square metres. The building will house the institution's oncology, pulmonology and infectious diseases departments and will treat patients in 112 beds. At the start of the investment, three outdated smaller buildings were demolished to make way for the new internal medicine centre.

The hospital's investments include work on

The first speaker at the event, prof. Dr. László Bucsi, the hospital's director general, also pointed out that the significance of the bushwalk celebration is that the building has reached its highest point and is structurally ready. He recalled the developments that have taken place since 2020, highlighting in particular the scale of the construction of the new block.

He also presented both the number of new floors and the number of beds and rooms, and said that financially this is the biggest project of all. He thanked all those present for their participation and said he was confident that the project would be completed in July 2024.

A significant amount of work has already been done

Zoltán Nyul, State Secretary of the ÉKM, the Deputy Minister of State for Building Construction, said that the bushwalking celebration is a major achievement and a very significant amount of work has been completed in the development. He stressed that the project also meets the Ministry's ambitions in all aspects, as all their investments are operational, sustainable, economical and aesthetically enriching for all participants.

"The new elements of this investment, I am convinced, will contribute to the institution as a whole at a high level", he said. He also stressed that the investment is taking place in a functioning hospital, which requires compromises from all parties involved.

The project helps the healing work of the city and the county

<Tamás Vargha, deputy minister of the Ministry of Defence and local MP, pointed out that the day is of great significance, but it is also important that a building is being completed that will be part of the healing work in Fejér County. He thanked the director general and all the hospital staff, the government that supported the project, the institutions that prepared the decision and those who will carry out the construction.

"The largest hospital in the region gets a new building"

Attila Mészáros, Deputy Mayor said that when the government announced the Modern Cities Programme, it was clear to Székesfehérvár that two areas should be included in the programme: health and education.

"It is a great joy that we will be able to make great progress in both areas," he stressed, highlighting in particular that the largest hospital in the region will have a new building." The Deputy Mayor also thanked all those involved in the project.

Celebrating an old tradition together

On behalf of the contractor Fejér-B.Á.L-Épkar consortium, project director Vilmos Bernwallner referred back to the speech of the hospital's director general, when he said that the celebration of the bokreta is a very old tradition, dating back to the early Middle Ages, when the builders and the contractors of the building celebrated together the fact that the structure was completely finished.

"Building is very nice in any case, but building a hospital is also very nice and useful, because you are indirectly helping to save people or make their lives easier"

- he said.

He thanked the ministry, the government and the hospital. On the latter, he singled out the Director General and all his colleagues involved in getting the project completed, thanking them for their professional work in supporting it. He said he believed that they had designed a building of which everyone would be proud.

Not a classic project

The project director recalled that the contract was signed at the end of November 2021 for a complex work. This is not the classic project where a design is available and construction starts. "We had to design the building from an approval plan, draw up permit plans, construction plans and, with a sore heart, demolish three old buildings that could no longer be renovated in a modern way." He said this specifically involved the removal of large amounts of debris and significant truck traffic, which the hospital has been patient with.

10 kilometres of pipeline had to be laid

On the subsequent utility replacements, he explained that there was a huge amount of work. Nearly 10 kilometres of pipe had to be laid under the old buildings before they got to the point where they had the space to do the rest. "30-40 years of legacy had to be cleared up", he said.

He pointed out that the building itself will be 6113 square metres with an internal courtyard of 300 square metres. In terms of figures, he said that 1,200 square metres of external paving would be built, 1,460 square metres of asphalt paving and 880 square metres of new parking spaces for 40 cars.

Safety was the most important aspect

Vilmos Bernwallner also explained that a large amount of excavation work had to be done and because the soil conditions were not good, 233 piles had to be driven under the building. He also pointed out that afterwards, when they started the foundation work, an internal audit showed that the quality of the concrete installed was not 100 per cent satisfactory, so they, as responsible contractors, demolished the area, excavated and redid the necessary works.

Ahead of the construction deadline

The spectacular construction work then began.

The project director stressed that it took a long time to build above ground, but despite this, the structure was fully completed by 15 September, compared to the 25 October construction deadline.

They processed 4000 cubic metres of concrete and more than 600 cubic metres of steel structure. He said that drywall works are currently underway and added that 95 per cent of the masonry is also complete and basic mechanical and electrical installations have started.

Talking about the next tasks, he referred to the lift construction works and explained that the building will have 4,000 square metres of modern paving, which will help it to operate economically. He also pointed out that the corridor is still to be completed, which will create a chilled-cooled connection with the rest of the hospital, with new windows and a modern exterior.

At the end of his speech, he asked God's blessing for the construction to continue without accidents, following the old tradition.

The bushwalk is on the roof of the building

In addition to the speakers, the event was also attended by:

• Zoltán Tessely MEP,
• Gábor Varga, Member of Parliament,
• László Lengyel is Deputy State Secretary for Health Financing and Development at the Ministry of Interior,
• Zoltán Jenei, Director General of the National General Directorate of Hospitals,
• Dr. Krisztián Molnár President of the Fejér County Assembly,
• and Norbert Dancs, Head of the Fejér County Government Office.

After the speeches, the bocce was ceremoniously placed on the new block and the participants were given a guided tour of the building. Finally, a standing reception concluded the event.