Twenty-three pillars of Prešov military hospital must be demolished; Kaliňák dismisses consortium linked to Orbán, appoints 'Team Slovakia'

The construction of the new military hospital in Prešov has been plagued by issues, with preliminary findings from an expert assessment confirming suspicions of substandard work by the Hungarian-Slovak consortium. Minister of Defense Robert Kaliňák announced that over twenty pillars will need to be demolished due to faulty concrete, a stark indicator of the problems plaguing the project.

This situation has led to the termination of contracts with the firms involved, including Bekor and Hungarian companies Confector and West Hungaria Bau. Notably, West Hungaria Bau is linked to Attila Paár, a wealthy Hungarian oligarch with past business ties to István Tiborcz, the former son-in-law of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. This connection raises questions about potential political or business influences.

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Based on the preliminary conclusion of the expert assessment, 23 pillars will have to be removed.

In response, Kaliňák has appointed a new group of five Slovak companies, collectively named 'Team Slovakia,' to take over the construction. The project's budget has also ballooned, now projected to exceed half a billion euros, a significant increase from the initial estimate. The Ministry of Defense aims to complete the hospital by 2028, fulfilling Slovakia's NATO commitment to allocate 2% of its GDP to defense spending.

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They will have to be removed because they cannot be repaired.