RAWALPINDI: Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Saturday said the provincial government wanted to complete the Mother and Child Hospital on Asghar Mall Road within a year and would also increase the number of beds from 200 to 400.

She stated this during her visit to the long stalled federal government project ‘Mother and Child Hospital’ and reviewed details regarding the handover of the project by the federal government to the provincial government.

Members of the National Assembly Tahira Aurangzeb, Hanif Abbasi and Malik Abrar Ahmed, besides Rawalpindi Medical University Vice ChancellorDr Mohammad Umar and Commissioner Aamir Khattak were also present.

Work on Mother and Child Hospital started in 2005 but the building still remains incomplete. The project was launched by former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed during Gen Pervez Musharraf’s tenure, and was inaugurated by former prime minister Shaukat Aziz.

Project pending since 2005; federal govt to hand over hospital work to Punjab

However, work remained incomplete during the two tenures of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). During the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in 2018, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who was part of the government back then, announced that work on the pending project would be completed, but till now, it remains pending.

Marriyum Aurangzeb inspected the constructed parts of the stalled Mother and Child Hospital and was briefed about the project. She also visited Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI) Rawalpindi.

Speaking during the briefing, Ms Aurangzeb said the project had been started with public money but remained stalled.

“Now Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz wants to complete and activate this project for the welfare of the people,” the minister said, adding that the process of transferring this project from the federation to the provincial government is being reviewed and important decisions will be taken in this regard in a special meeting chaired by the chief minister.

Marriyum Aurangzeb said after the handover from the federal government, the Punjab government will plan to increase the number of beds from 200 to 400.

She said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz wanted work on the project to be started immediately, adding that a formal timeline would be drawn up and the project would be completed.

MNA Hanif Abbasi said the PML-N government had started mega projects like the Metro Bus Service and Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology and completed and activated them for the public.

He said cutting the ribbon and laying the foundation stone of the project was not a big deal; what was important was to complete the project.

Mother and Child Hospital was started nearly 20 years ago at a cost of Rs1.6 billion. Today the cost has ballooned to Rs8 billion.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2024