Paraguay commenced construction on for the new general hospital in Asunción, located in the Costanera Sur area. This facility will be the first major reference medical centre for the nation’s capital. The project, which has been planned for nearly two decades, is now moving forward.
“Today we are moving from paper, from almost 20 years of back and forth, to finally making the firm decision to create the first large reference hospital for the city of Asunción,” said Minister of Public Works, Claudia Centurión, during the groundbreaking ceremony.
A significant boost to healthcare capacity
Centurión highlighted the scale of the new hospital, which will cover an area of 38,000 square metres. It is designed to house 250 beds, including 88 for intensive care, and will feature 11 operating theatres. The minister affirmed that the hospital will directly serve more than 600,000 families, providing them with accessible healthcare.
Many residents were left “unprotected” after the Hospital de Clínicas relocated to the city of San Lorenzo in 2012. This move left Asunción without a primary university teaching hospital.
Part of a national infrastructure plan
The construction follows a goverment decision to construct seven major hospitals across the country. This initiative builds on projects already operational in Coronel Oviedo and Itapúa, which were developed in collaboration with the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
This is in line with Paraguay’s intention to replicate Taiwan’s healthcare model, which he described as one of the most efficient in the world.
General Hospital in Asunción: State-of-the-art facilities
The hospital will feature 67 consulting rooms and 11 operating theatres equipped for emergency interventions, scheduled surgeries, and maternal care. It will also provide intensive care units for adults, children, and newborns. Specialised services will include differentiated emergency rooms, maternity care, dialysis, a laboratory, a pharmacy, and a diagnostic imaging department offering X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and endoscopies.
Additional facilities will include a heliport, separate parking areas, green spaces, and support sectors such as a kitchen, laundry, lodging, sterilisation, pathological anatomy, and transfusion medicine. The hospital’s design also incorporates a sewage treatment plant, hospital waste management systems, and an automated fire prevention and-fighting system to ensure safe and efficient operation.
Taiwan’s continued support and cooperation
The Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan), Yván Lee, expressed his government’s high expectations for the hospital. “Our commitment is not limited to supporting the construction because we also want to build its future medical development; we have planned to promote cooperation between this hospital and the general hospital of the Armed Forces of Taiwan,” said Lee.
He underscored that his government will continually contribute to ensuring the new hospital becomes a high-quality medical care centre for the benefit of Paraguay. The project represents a significant investment of ₲466,945,868,869 (approximately US$77 million), financed by the Government of Taiwan.
Also read: Your Guide To Hospitals And Medical Care In The Asunción Metropolitan Area.
