Santorini is expected to have a new general hospital in 20 months’ time after Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos laid the foundation stone yesterday for the new building, which will house five specialist clinics and 42 beds.

Islanders have been demanding a new hospital on Santorini for several years so that it can keep up with the increased medical demands in the summer, when thousands of tourists flock to the Cycladic island.

The hospital will cover 4,600 square meters and will “match up to the quality and size of tourism on the island,” said Avramopoulos.

The construction of the new hospital will cost 14 million euros. The land on which the hospital is being built has been donated by the local Aghios Nikolaos Church. Avramopoulos thanked several people, including Aristides Alafouzos, the president of Kathimerini’s board of directors, for playing a leading role in getting the project off the ground.