Torrevieja University Hospital is to undergo a €175 million expansion that will increase its capacity by 75%, provide almost 190 additional beds and bring more than 650 new healthcare professionals to the area.
The ambitious project, expected to be fully operational within six years, is designed to meet the rapidly growing healthcare needs of Torrevieja and the surrounding municipalities. The hospital serves ten towns with a combined permanent population of more than 225,000—considerably higher during the summer and other holiday periods.
President of the Generalitat Juanfran Pérez Llorca unveiled the plans during a visit to the hospital on Thursday, describing the development as a major investment in the future of public healthcare in the southern Costa Blanca.
The hospital, which opened in 2006, will gain approximately 30,000 square metres of additional floor space. Its capacity will rise from 270 to 457 beds, an increase of almost 70%, while 150 additional outpatient consultation rooms will be created.
The expansion will also provide four new operating theatres, additional delivery rooms, a day-surgery unit, more intensive care beds and extra haemodialysis stations.
Three-phase development
Work will be divided into three phases to ensure that clinical services can continue throughout construction. Approximately two years have been allocated for designing and preparing the project, followed by three years of building work. The completed facilities are expected to become fully operational within six years.
The first phase, budgeted at €87.4 million, will expand and reorganise the hospital’s main clinical areas. It will deliver the additional beds and a new specialist centre incorporating support services, a day hospital and 150 outpatient consultation rooms.
The second phase, costing €34.4 million, will remodel the existing hospital building. This will include expanding the surgical department with four additional operating theatres and new maternity delivery rooms.
A further €27.4 million will be invested during the third phase to improve surrounding roads and increase parking capacity from just over 900 spaces to approximately 1,370. Officials are examining whether even more parking places can be provided.
Council transfers expansion land
Torrevieja City Council has approved the early transfer of an adjoining 11,492-square-metre plot east of the hospital, allowing the Valencian Health Ministry to proceed without waiting for the completion of the wider land readjustment process.
The site forms part of the planned La Ceñuela development, which includes space for 1,347 homes accommodating an estimated 3,387 residents, together with commercial premises, educational facilities and green areas.
The land is currently owned by Explotaciones Agrícolas La Ceñuela, the company responsible for developing the sector. Its early transfer received final approval at an extraordinary council meeting held the day before Pérez Llorca’s visit.
Environmental group Friends of the Southern Alicante Wetlands, known as AHSA, had objected to the proposal. It cited concerns over the land’s proximity to the Torrevieja Natural Park and its position within a protected corridor between the salt lagoons and Lo Ferrís. Those objections were rejected during the administrative process.
More than 650 additional professionals
The expansion will be accompanied by the recruitment of 667 professionals at an estimated annual cost of €25.9 million. A total of 404 posts will be created during the first two phases, with another 263 added during the final phase.
Recruitment will cover specialist doctors, surgical and specialist nurses, imaging technicians, healthcare assistants, physiotherapists, social workers, administrative employees and management personnel.
The additional workforce is expected to make a substantial difference to services in one of the fastest-growing areas of the Valencian Community, helping to reduce waiting times while expanding access to consultations, diagnostic procedures, surgery and specialist treatment.
In the shorter term, 12 additional consultation rooms are being installed in prefabricated modules. The regional government is also reinforcing the Torrevieja health department with 188 healthcare posts intended to help reduce waiting lists.
Mayor Eduardo Dolón described the announcement as “a great day” following years of demands for the hospital to be enlarged. He said the project would provide sufficient capacity to accommodate the area’s expected growth over the next 20 to 30 years.
Once completed, Pérez Llorca said Torrevieja would have one of the largest hospitals in the Valencian Community.
The regional government is also progressing with improvement or expansion projects at health centres in La Loma, Los Montesinos, San Miguel de Salinas, Guardamar del Segura, Pilar de la Horadada and Orihuela Costa. Across the Valencian Community, 22 hospital and health-centre projects are planned or under development, representing a combined investment of approximately €400 million.
