Greening the public sector – Rehabilitation of the VMA Hospital

The vast majority of public buildings in Serbia are energy inefficient and require reconstruction, and this especially applies to hospitals, which have high and permanent energy consumption. In hospitals, the lighting, heating or air conditioning, security systems, monitoring, elevators, cleaning, sterilization and operating rooms work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Increased energy costs pose a particular problem for hospitals that require a huge amount of water, heat and power. This applies in particular to the Military Medical Academy (VMA) in Belgrade, which is among the largest hospitals in Europe with an enormous investment and rehabilitation backlog. A comparison of energy and water consumption between VMA and the median value of German hospitals at a comparable size illustrates high saving potential at VMA Belgrade (which consumes 5 times more water, 3 time more electricity and 3 time more natural gas).

The project concerns the energy-efficient rehabilitation of the Military Medical Academy (VMA) Hospital in Belgrade – VMA, which is the largest hospital in Serbia and one of the largest in Europe with a usable space of approximately 180,000m². It is known for its high standard in medical practice and it is considered to be the most outstanding medical institution in Serbia. The original high-quality construction was maintained on an outstanding level, however, parts of the building and most of its technical installations and distribution systems have reached the end of their life span after 39 years in operation.

The project will

• Increase energy efficiency in the main VMA building and the VMA district heating system
• Reduce annual energy demand and CO2 emission
• Improve the hospital’s accommodation and working conditions by holistic refurbishment