Several major construction projects are currently underway at the University Hospital Centre “Mother Teresa” (QSUNT), aimed at modernising hospital infrastructure, increasing capacity, and improving healthcare services for patients, doctors, and medical students.
Key projects include the construction from scratch of the Infectious Diseases Paediatrics facility, the reconstruction of several hospital services, and the development of a new multifunctional parking structure with a capacity of around 1,400 parking spaces. This facility will also include spaces for conferences, training activities, and supporting services.
To closely follow the progress of the works, Prime Minister Edi Rama visited QSUNT today, accompanied by the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Evis Sala, and the Director of QSUNT, Anxhela Paparizo.
During the inspection, the Director of QSUNT explained that the Infectious Diseases Paediatrics unit will be built entirely from the ground up, while several existing structures are undergoing full reconstruction. The Cardiac Surgery unit has completed its construction phase and is currently being furnished and equipped with beds, with the aim of opening by March, in line with contemporary European standards. In addition, the day hospital has been reconstructed and will provide medical services delivered within the same day, while the burns and plastic surgery unit is undergoing a total reconstruction, scheduled for completion in early 2027.
One of the most significant interventions is the construction of the new multifunctional parking facility, which will offer a total of 1,400 parking spaces and comply with all standards required for a hospital centre of this level. This includes an emergency helicopter landing platform, lifts adapted to accommodate ambulances, and dedicated access for different categories of users. The project is expected to be completed by September of next year.
According to the Director of the Albanian Development Fund, Dritan Agolli, concentrating parking in a dedicated structure will free up substantial areas within the QSUNT campus, paving the way for the redevelopment of approximately 80,000 square metres. These areas are planned to be transformed into an urban park, serving patients, their families, medical staff, and the surrounding neighbourhood.
“This is the multifunctional parking facility of the Mother Teresa Hospital, which will accommodate around 1,400 parking spaces. Currently, the total surface we are talking about corresponds to 790 parking spaces, which means this facility will include everything that exists here today, plus additional capacity. At the same time, it will also provide other spaces for waiting areas, accommodation, and services for organising conferences and training sessions for doctors and professors, which need to be part of this complex. At present, works have progressed at a very good pace. We have already reached the plus-one level. The entire structure will be five storeys above ground. The parking facility meets all the standards required for a hospital parking structure, starting from the rooftop platform for emergency helicopter landings, to lifts that can accommodate ambulances, as well as lifts adapted for specific parking needs,” detailed the Director of the Albanian Development Fund, Dritan Agolli.
Prime Minister Rama described the project as a major relief for the functioning of QSUNT, stressing that the public-to-public partnership model between QSUNT and the Albanian Development Fund ensures not only functional and urban solutions, but also the generation of revenues for the healthcare institution itself. He also emphasised the importance of developing the park project in parallel, with the aim of transforming QSUNT into a green, calm, and user-friendly space, where vehicle circulation will be limited exclusively to emergency needs and essential services.
“This is a very major relief. In fact, the Albanian Development Fund already has extensive experience and a very positive track record with these parking structures, because they are revenue-generating both for the institution and for the fund as the investor. Naturally, there is a distinction between employees, who receive special treatment, and external users who use the facility. At the same time, there is also access from outside the hospital, meaning the parking also serves the surrounding area. In a specific part of the structure, cars from the neighbourhood are accommodated, they pay, and this becomes a source of income. The park project must be developed in parallel, because the idea has been to transform the entire QSUNT into a park – a park with hospital buildings, of course. All these areas that have existed here for many years should be redeveloped and rethought from this perspective, and the entire road system should be reviewed with the idea that there will no longer be cars constantly entering and exiting. Only ambulances, dedicated lanes, and then certain sections could be paved in stone for pedestrians. Something should be created that truly makes you feel as though you are going to a place to regenerate, not to a marketplace,” Prime Minister Rama stated.
