Jinnah Medical Complex 59 percent built, due to open in March 2027
Shehbaz Sharif directed that appointments at the 403-bed Islamabad hospital be made on merit and a private firm be engaged to run it.
The Jinnah Medical Complex and Research Centre being built in Islamabad's H-11 sector is 59 percent complete and is due to become operational by March 23, 2027, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was told at a review meeting on Monday.
The 403-bed hospital was discussed at a meeting chaired by Sharif, who said construction targets had to be achieved within the stipulated timeframe, according to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office Media Wing carried by the Associated Press of Pakistan. The statement said he described progress on the construction as satisfactory.
Sharif directed that all appointments at the hospital be made purely on merit and in a transparent manner, and that a private-sector organisation be engaged to run the facility in line with international healthcare standards.
He said the complex would provide advanced treatment to patients from Islamabad and across the country, particularly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Advanced diagnostic facilities, including PET scans, should be a core part of the project and accessible to low- and middle-income groups, he said.
Officials briefed the meeting that structural work on the main hospital building and the parking plaza had been completed. Installation and maintenance of medical equipment, a digital hospital management system and other administrative arrangements were under way.
The meeting was told that national competitive bidding for the second phase of the complex in H-11 had begun under a revised design, with construction expected to start shortly. Procurement of scanners and other advanced diagnostic equipment is also in progress.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Cheema, Health Minister Mustafa Kamal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry attended the meeting, along with senior officials.
The hospital is one of several federal health projects in the capital, and the briefing put the first phase at 59 percent overall progress, with the opening date fixed for March 23, 2027.
How the reports differ
Associated Press of Pakistan led on the prime minister's remark that progress on the construction was satisfactory, a detail it attributed to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office Media Wing. Business Recorder led on the figures instead, putting the 59 percent completion and the March 23, 2027 opening date in its opening paragraph, and did not carry the description of the work as satisfactory. Both reports gave the same bed count, the same target date and the same four attending ministers.
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