"In the words of the minister, the process is going to restart with the planning and design necessary to launching the tender with construction work then beginning," said Santos before adding that the costs incurred in the planning stage would be included in next year’s state budget.


Stating that what had been halted by the previous government would now get going again, the municipal council president said that such “was excellent news for the population.”


Putting the cost at in the region of €60 million for a 72-bed facility, Santos said that his municipality, in the south of the Greater Lisbon region, paid over double that annually in income tax alone and that the infrastructure was much needed.


The Seixal leader explained that in the surrounding geographic area of the Setúbal peninsula, there was a 1,300 bed shortfall as regards the national average and in addition to a corresponding shortage of some 715 doctors.


This also fell within the scope of finding a solution to the main hospital on the peninsula, the Garcia de Orta Hospital in Almada, which was all but swamped by demand with Santos explaining how the Garcia de Orta had been scaled to serve a 150,000 strong community whereas now served over 450,000 persons.