Preliminary Feasibility Study Period Shortened by 6 Months... Expectation for Review Results Within This Year
Practical Battle to Protect 500 Beds Begins... Support from Local Political Circles Needed
Urban Development Plan for Police Medical Town Must Accelerate
The "National Police Hospital Branch" to be established in Asan City, Chungnam, passed the Ministry of Economy and Finance's "3rd Fiscal Project Evaluation Committee of 2024" on the 2nd and was designated as a rapid preliminary feasibility study project.
The 'National Police Hospital Branch' to be established in Asan City, Chungnam Province, was designated as a rapid preliminary feasibility study (PFS) project at the 3rd Fiscal Project Evaluation Committee meeting of the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 2nd, accelerating the project's progress.
Planned as a tertiary general hospital with 550 beds, the Asan Police Hospital is a project with a total budget of 432.9 billion KRW. Projects exceeding 50 billion KRW are required to undergo a mandatory preliminary feasibility study.
Until now, the city had been pushing for an exemption from the PFS by citing presidential campaign promises and other reasons. However, on January 31, during the National Assembly's passage of the 'Amendment to the Basic Act on Health, Safety, and Welfare of Police Officers (Police Welfare Act Amendment)' which included the establishment basis for the National Police Hospital Asan Branch, the exemption clause for the PFS was removed due to opposition from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, causing difficulties.
However, during the National Assembly review, the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced that the Police Hospital branch would be designated as a 'rapid PFS target.' Accordingly, the city and the National Police Agency applied for the rapid PFS on February 16 and were selected as a target project.
Notably, the Asan Police Hospital became the first project to apply the rapid PFS method to the construction sector following the Ministry of Economy and Finance's PFS system reform in 2022, and through this, the PFS period is expected to be significantly shortened to six months.
If the PFS passes within this year, the project is expected to proceed with basic and detailed design in 2025, groundbreaking in 2026, and completion by December 2028, becoming a key pillar of public healthcare in Asan and the northwestern region of Chungnam.
Despite the rapid PFS designation, concerns remain that it is too early to be complacent as many hurdles still need to be overcome.
The biggest issue is the possibility that the economic feasibility (B/C ratio, benefit-cost ratio) may fall below the standard value of 1 during the PFS process.
The city has already calculated a demand of 1,134 beds (by 2028) and a B/C value of 1.49 through its own feasibility study. However, looking at other projects, there have been many cases where projects were downsized due to economic feasibility during the PFS process.
For example, the Gwangju Medical Center's scale was reduced from the initial 350 beds to 300 beds during the PFS, and the Ulsan Medical Center, which underwent PFS review for 500 beds, failed last year.
The Seobusan Medical Center, Seobugyeongnam Public Hospital, and Ulsan Industrial Accident Public Hospital proceeded with 300 beds and received PFS exemptions.
Ultimately, to maintain the 500-bed scale, the city needs to develop policy, economic, and social persuasive arguments targeting the Korea Development Institute (KDI) and prepare data evidence to prove them, as well as receive active support from local political circles.
Additionally, there are calls for the rapid advancement of the urban development plan for the Police Medical Town, ambitiously prepared by Mayor Park Kyung-gwi.
The Police Medical Town is planned over an area of 2.08 million square meters around the Police Hospital branch and is an essential project to ensure the stable settlement of about 900 medical personnel who will work at the hospital.
However, since the special urban development office authority to establish independent urban plans is granted only to cities with populations of 500,000 or more, and Chungnam Province holds the approval authority for urban development, there are concerns that the pace of Asan City may not keep up with the hospital opening, potentially causing setbacks in securing medical staff and other issues.
Mayor Park Kyung-gwi said, "We will do our best to realize the construction of a 550-bed tertiary general hospital through passing the PFS, which is a citizen's aspiration and an important task for 'regional comprehensive healthcare.'"
He added, "As we have done so far, we will thoroughly prepare and review the materials. We will cooperate organically with the National Police Agency and Chungnam Province and respond as one team with local members of the National Assembly until the PFS passes," he emphasized.
Meanwhile, the Asan Police Hospital is being promoted with the goal of completion in 2028 in the Chosadong area. It is planned as a disaster-specialized general hospital with a total area of 81,118 square meters, including six centers such as a Health Promotion Center and Emergency Medicine Center, and 24 medical departments.
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