The construction work of a 17-storey building for Khulna Specialised Hospital for Cancer, Kidney and Heart Diseases has long been protracted after the first deadline for completion passed over three years ago in June 2023 and three more extensions has since been missed.
Backed by a budget of Tk 280.69 crore, the building is being built in the grounds of Khulna Medical College Hospital and will be administered as a separate hospital institution.
The budget, originally valued at Tk 82.36 crore, was increased along with the time extensions.
The hospital, the construction work of which began in October 2021, has been planned to provide advanced treatment for cancer, kidney and heart diseases for patients from Khulna and adjacent districts.
The prolonged delay in completing the infrastructure has stalled service expansion efforts, increasing patient sufferings.
SM Hussain Billah, a civic leader and poet in Khulna, said that cancer, kidney and heart patients with restricted have to crowd Khulna Medical College Hospital that struggles to provide services amid limited capacities, lacking necessary infrastructure, human resources and modern equipment.
Families, often stretching their financial capacity to the limit, travel to Dhaka or abroad as they desperately seek advanced treatment for their loved ones.
According to the Khulna divisional office of the Directorate General of Health Services, the government took an initiative in 2019 to establish 100-bed comprehensive cancer treatment centres in all eight divisional cities.
Later on, treatment services for kidney and cardiovascular diseases were also added to the project, while the number of beds was also increased.
According to the Public Works Department, the contract for constructing the hospital building was signed with SN Builders Private Limited on October 31, 2021.
After failing to meet the original deadline set for June 2023, three one-yearly extensions were made—December 2024, then June 2025 and then June 2026—all of which were missed by the contractor.
Most recently, SN Builders got yet another extension till June 2027.
Built across 23,250 square meters of land, the total floor area of the building is approximately 2.5 lakh square feet.
Acknowledging the prolonged delay in construction, Kamrul Hasan, executive engineer of Khulna Public Works Department-1, said that the overall progress—including structural and other construction work was nearly 80 per cent.
The executive engineer put the delay down to planning and various other complications, saying that the work was now progressing targeting to hand over the building to the DGHS by June next year.
SN Builders owner Sheikh Daud Haidar claimed that older structures located on the designated site had to be cleared before the project could begin.
He also mentioned delay in obtaining the designs, COVID-19 pandemic, political changeover, among other causes, for the delay.
Khulna Medical College Hospital Director Kazi Md Aynul Islam said that although the specialised hospital would sit in the KMCH compound, it would function as an independent hospital.
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This story was collected by Khulna Info and links back to the original publisher.
