The Socialist Party (PS) in the Algarve has criticised the absence of any reference to the construction of the Algarve Central Hospital in the Government’s proposed 2026 State Budget, as well as recent changes to the project team, accusing the Government of engaging in “delaying tactics.” Meanwhile, the Social Democrats (PSD) reiterated last week their “full confidence” in Prime Minister Luís Montenegro’s pledge to launch the public tender by the end of the month.
After the Government’s draft 2026 budget, presented last week, made no mention of the long-promised hospital, the PS argued in a statement released on Tuesday, 14 October, that the executive “seems more interested in appointing new members to a task force which completed its work already in June 2024,” as its coordinator had told Parliament last October.
To explain - a ministerial order dated 29 September and published this week, in the Diário da República, announced changes to the project team overseeing the study, launch, and preparation of a public–private partnership (PPP) for the new hospital. The order was signed by Rita Cunha Leal, head of the Technical Unit for Project Monitoring (UTAP), an autonomous administrative body under the Ministry of Finance.
The new team members include UTAP consultants Rita Santinho Martins and Miguel Epifânio, and Tiago Botelho, president of the Algarve Local Health Unit.
PS deputies elected in the Algarve have also submitted two formal questions to Prime Minister Luís Montenegro in Parliament. They ask: “The Technical Monitoring Commission was appointed on 5 April 2023. After 923 days, including 560 since the AD prime minister took office, when will the Government honour its commitment to launch the tender for the new Algarve Central Hospital?” and “Why has the Government removed all references to the hospital tender from the 2026 State Budget report?”
“Enough with the delaying tactics to postpone the Algarve Central Hospital,” stressed Luís Graça, PS Algarve president and member of parliament.
The PSD Algarve, for its part, responded last week, saying the omission of the project from the 2026 budget proposal was justified and reaffirming “total confidence in the Government’s commitment.”
“This is a public–private partnership (PPP), a model that does not require public expenditure before the construction phase, which is why no budget allocation is included. The absence of such a provision confirms, in fact, that the public tender will be launched this month, as planned,” the PSD said in a statement.
“The PSD Algarve will continue to act responsibly, monitoring the project’s progress and reaffirming the importance of this strategic investment for the region’s future and for strengthening the National Health Service in southern Portugal,” the statement concluded.
