Construction of New Surgical Building in Nizhyn Starts as Part of Ukraine–France Partnership
Preparatory work has begun in Nizhyn for the construction of a new surgical building at the Nizhyn Central City Hospital named after Mykola Halytskyi. The project is being implemented as part of agreements between Ukraine and France.
The launch events were attended by Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Liashko, France’s Special Envoy for Assistance and Reconstruction of Ukraine Muriel Lacoue-Labarthe, representatives of Ellipse Projects, members of the French delegation and local authorities, as well as the hospital’s management and medical staff.
The Nizhyn hospital is one of the key healthcare facilities in the community. It is a cluster hospital within the national hospital network, with 515 beds and serving about 215,000 residents of the region. This initiative will significantly strengthen the region’s capacity to provide medical care and marks an important step toward modernizing local healthcare infrastructure.
The project is being implemented under one of two framework agreements between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of Ukraine on cooperation in hospital reconstruction and oncology diagnostics, signed in June 2024 and ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in September of the same year. Financing is provided through a concessional loan from the French Treasury totaling €35 million. The project is carried out by Ellipse Projects, appointed by the French side under the intergovernmental agreement.
“We very much welcome the launch of the reconstruction of the Nizhyn hospital-a €35 million project—which is one of the many initiatives funded by France to provide concrete support to the resilience of the Ukrainian healthcare system.”
During a meeting with France’s Special Envoy Muriel Lacoue-Labarthe, Minister Liashko expressed gratitude to the French side for its consistent support and highlighted several joint initiatives already underway.
The parties also reviewed the hospital’s operations and inspected installed medical equipment. With the assistance of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and international partners, the facility has been equipped with modern medical technology, including a CT scanner, an angiography system, a mobile X-ray unit, an oxygen supply system and oxygen station. With support from French partners, the hospital also received defibrillator monitors, an ultrasound system, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation equipment already used in daily practice.
“We deeply appreciate France’s consistent support and partnership, which is already delivering tangible results for Ukraine’s healthcare system. This includes, in particular, the development of a network of prosthetic micro-clinics, international hospital partnerships—within which 25 memoranda of understanding have already been signed—joint projects to combat antimicrobial resistance, support for specialized medical fields such as reconstructive surgery, and the supply of modern diagnostic equipment. In particular, a program to deliver 25 mammography units is currently underway, with the first six expected to arrive at Ukrainian medical facilities by the end of March”
The surgical building, with a total area of 6,000 square meters, will be constructed on the hospital grounds on a full-cycle basis—from design and construction to equipment installation, commissioning, and staff training. The new facility will have three levels, one of which will be an underground radiation shelter.
The building will provide emergency and surgical care and will include six operating rooms, an intensive care unit, a laboratory, a central sterilization unit, a medical imaging department, and an additional 100 inpatient beds. The project also includes the supply of modern medical equipment from France. The maximum construction timeline is 36 months.
Overall, this initiative forms part of broader systemic cooperation between Ukraine and France in the healthcare sector. Several large-scale projects are already underway within this partnership, aimed at developing rehabilitation services, emergency care, digital solutions, and the technical modernization of hospitals. Cooperation is also ongoing in specialized medical fields, including the development of reconstructive surgery in partnership with Superhumans and strengthened oncology collaboration between Gustave Roussy Institute and the National Cancer Institute of Ukraine, with the goal of improving treatment quality and enhancing Ukraine’s oncology capacity.
Earlier, Ukraine and France signed seven agreements worth €51 million to support the development of the healthcare sector.