The construction of Nyt OUH, Denmark’s largest new hospital, is being delayed again, and the number of workers on the site has fallen from about 1,500 to around 700.
DR reports that a shortage of hands on the building site is one reason for the new delay. Kenneth Holm, director of the Nyt OUH project organization, told DR that the workforce stood at up to 1,500 at the start of 2026. Over the summer it fell to roughly 700, which he called worryingly low.
Bo Libergren (V), chairman of the regional council in Region Syddanmark, is the political head of the client behind the hospital. He told DR that 700 workers is far too few, and that he was irritated when he heard the figure. Earlier in the year he believed the project could still reach its target.
According to Berlingske, the hospital will not be ready to receive patients in 2027, despite earlier plans for an opening that autumn. Jyllands-Posten reports that the region has been told completing the remaining work in time is no longer realistic.
How long the delay will be is not yet known. Nyt OUH is being built in Odense as Denmark’s largest newly built super hospital.
Union questions the labor shortage
Torben Knudsen, chairman of 3F’s construction workers on Funen, told DR that the delay does not surprise the union. He said few people believed the 2027 completion date. He also questioned the explanation that there is a shortage of labor.
Per Knudsen, 3F still has members who were sent home in connection with bankruptcies at subcontractors. He said carpenters and general laborers want to work on the site, but have not been offered other jobs there.
The site has been hit by unrest among subcontractors several times. In May and June, foreign employees of the bankrupt company Techno Build demonstrated at the main entrance because they had not been paid. The blockade lasted several days and ended only after a special solution was arranged for them.
The Italian total contractor OHPT, Odense Hospital Project Team, is building Nyt OUH. OHPT is responsible for hiring enough workers to keep up the pace and hand over the buildings on the agreed date.
DR asked OHPT about the staffing situation on Thursday. Press spokesman Christian Lemvigh said the total contractor had no comment, and later wrote that OHPT has nothing further to say at present.
Nyt OUH has opened its doors to the public for an annual open house, which is taking place again this year. The wait for patients to move in is now longer than previously announced.
