The foundation stone for the new premises was laid in July 2007, with the plan being to have the new ER built by the end of 2009 with all emergency units in one place.

The first phase of the project was estimated at EUR 19.8m and entrusted to builders SCT, Vegrad and Gradbeno Podjetje Grosuplje.

The date of conclusion of works was shifted to 2011 and the value of the entire project was estimated at EUR 95.2m. Construction started in November 2007, but ground to a halt in the summer of 2009 due to several faults discovered. One of them was that the hospital beds did not fit in the elevators.

Irregularities were also found in the ministry's documents for the project, including building permits for various parts of the building.

In 2010, Vegrad went into receivership, while SCT and Gradbeno podjetje Grosuplje followed suit the next year, so the ministry withdrew from the contract.

During the term of Minister Dorjan Marušič (April 2010 - September 2011), the project was significantly expanded and estimated at almost EUR 111m. The works should have been finished by the end of 2014.

In February 2011, the ministry withdrew from all contracts, cashed in on a EUR 2.5m bank guarantee and started looking for new contractors.

Minister Tomaž Gantar annulled two calls for applications in March 2012 due to suspected irregularities, but a new call for applications failed. An audit of the project was launched.

When PM Alenka Bratušek was temporarily in charge of the Health Ministry in 2014, a new public call for applications was published and EUR 22m secured for the project.

Incumbent minister Kolar Celarc slightly modified that call and Kolektor Koling was picked for the job, demanding EUR 17.83m for the project or EUR 21.76m with VAT.

The construction of the second phase, including construction of the ground floor, two basements, a diagnostic and therapeutic unit, a new lab and a new transport terminal, started in 2015 and concluded this August. The works exceeded the contract value of the project by 3.5%.

The new fully equipped premises will be inaugurated today, while the third phase of the project still envisages a dispatch centre, the main lab, and the reconstruction of the paediatric, gynaecology, trauma and surgery units.

Some EUR 21.7m will be allocated for the project next year and another EUR 11.3m in 2019.