European Investment Bank Gives High Praise to Burgas Children’s Hospital

The Children’s Hospital project in Burgas is already serving as a model—and not merely in theory.

Thanks to the positive experience in Burgas, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Health has requested consultancy support from the European Investment Bank for the planned National Children’s Hospital in Sofia.

The news was announced by Marek Mora, who visited St Anastasia Specialised Children’s Hospital in Burgas a few days ago and said he was impressed by the project’s development.

Marek Mora, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank: “It is a source of pride for me that we, as the EU’s bank, have been able to fulfil our core mission here—to support sustainable projects that improve the wellbeing of citizens of the European Union. St Anastasia Specialised Children’s Hospital is the first specialised children’s hospital in Bulgaria and the first new public hospital to be built in the past several decades.”

He recalled that the hospital will serve more than 220,000 children in south-eastern Bulgaria and will provide specialised paediatric care across 27 medical fields.

According to the EIB Vice-President, the Children’s Hospital in Burgas will introduce a new model of care organisation in Bulgaria, moving away from the traditional structuring of services and towards patient-centred care.

Marek Mora: “Families will no longer have to undertake long and stressful journeys to Sofia or other cities when their children need urgent or complex treatment. That alone represents a significant change both in health outcomes and in quality of life.”

He also revealed an interesting detail from the preparation stage for the construction of St Anastasia—the creation of a digital twin of the hospital.

Marek Mora: “This allowed us to test and optimise the functioning of the medical facility before construction even began. This kind of thorough, data-driven preparation is what turns a good idea into a funded and viable project.”

Asked what tipped the balance in favour of the Bank’s investment in the Children’s Hospital project in Burgas, the institution’s Vice-President explained:

“Several factors came together in a way that made the Burgas project particularly compelling for the European Investment Bank. First and foremost, the need for such a hospital was absolutely clear. At the time the project was launched, Bulgaria did not have a specialised, fully comprehensive children’s hospital.

The Municipality of Burgas recognised this shortfall and was determined to take action to address it. What impressed us was that this commitment was not merely rhetorical. The city approached us at an early stage, sought expert support, and consistently saw the process through to completion. For a project of this scale and complexity, such determination is essential.”