Heredia will get a new 200-bed hospital in 2009 if plans outlined Tuesday come true.

Eduardo Doryan, executive president of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social said that his organization is about to advertise for bids. In three months he said he expected to present the bids to the Caja board of directors. Construction could begin in 2007, he said.

Doryan was meeting with President Óscar Arias Sánchez and gave details of the project afterwards.

The new hospital will be the most secure in the country with anti-fire devices, he said. This was a clear reference to the fire that killed 19 last year at another Caja hospital, Calderón Guardia in San José where fire safety measures did not work.

The new facility will replace the 117-year-old Hospital San Vincente de Paúl. The location is 400 meters south of the existing hospital on 11 hectares (27 acres). The building will have 36,000 square meters of space (387,500 square feet).

Representatives of the following firms also were at the meeting because they are pre-qualified to bid on the job: Estructuras S.A., EDICA Ltda., Van der Laat & Jiménez S.A., Gonzalo Delgado S.A. and Consorcio Edificar S.A., said Casa Presidencial.

The Caja is the country’s social security agency and provides free or nearly free medical services for most Costa Ricans.