Murree to have 100-bed children hospital in one year

Islamabad

A 100-bed state-of-the-art mother and child care hospital will be operational in Murree in one year as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is eager to see it functioning promptly.

“In the next few weeks, we are starting the construction work on the facility, which, according to the plan, will begin catering to the ailing women and children in October next year,” Rawalpindi Commissioner Azmat Mehmood, who is its project director and also the Director General of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), told The News. 

He said an amount of Rs300 million, which the Punjab government provided, has already been transferred to the executing agency, the Infrastructure Development Authority Punjab (IDAP). The geological study has been made. The NESPAK (National Engineering Services Pakistan) has been hired as the consultant of the project.

Azmat Mehmood said that the federal and Punjab governments would equally share the cost of the new hospital. He did not see any problem in completing the facility in all respects in one year’s time. He said the BoQs (bill of quantities) will be finalised by the end of the current month and the prequalification of contractors will also be done immediately.

The project director did not foresee any hiccups in swiftly getting the requisite funds from the federal and Punjab government as the prime minister was keen for early completion of the hospital.

It will be located on the land owned by the Punjab health department, behind the general bus stand at the hill station. At present, the town of Murree has the civil hospital that lacks adequate medical facilities apart from the BHUs (basic health units) in its rural areas. There is a dearth of private hospitals in the town.

The civil hospital has been upgraded but it still lacks the desired medical facilities. It was previously planned that a somewhat bigger hospital would be built in Murree but it was later decided that the facility may face the problem of qualified human resource for Murree not being an attraction for medical specialists. During the planning, the spot earlier selected for the hospital has now been changed.

Besides, Murree has the Samli Sanatorium that only treats patients of tuberculosis. As the prime minister frequently visits Murree, he is paying extra attention to the development of the area and availability of modern facilities there. During his stay there, he has often presided over meetings on the development of the hill station and directed authorities to expedite work on different projects.