The Antwerp Cadix hospital was inaugurated on Tuesday in the Park Spoor Noord district of the Metropolis, in the presence of Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon and Federal Minister for Public Health Frank Vandenbroucke.
ZNA Cadix will be able to accommodate some 200,000 patients each year.
The Stuivenberg hospital will close its doors for good on 18 September. Care programming will then gradually begin on the new site, a "high-tech hospital" with almost 300 rooms. The hospital will house the largest emergency services in the country. A burns centre is also planned.
The building will have up to 22 floors, 40 medical departments and 14 operating theatres. More than 1,300 people will be employed on site.
The two Antwerp hospital networks, the ZNA (Ziekenhuis Netwerk Antwerpen) and the GZA (Gasthuis Zusters Antwerpen), will eventually form a single group which will be known as the ZAS (Ziekenhuis aan de Stroom) from 1 January 2024.
The ZAS will be one of the largest care domes in Europe and will be chaired by Els van Doesburg.
