ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) approved four projects, worth a total of Rs4.6 billion, for the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Tuesday.

With the projects approved, it is expected that work on extending the Mother and Child Health Centre’s intensive care departments, the children’s hospital, the procurement of two MRI machines, the construction of hostel for female doctors and upgrading existing facilities will begin soon.

Pims Executive Director Dr Raja Amjad Mehmood told Dawn that extending the intensive care departments will cost approximately Rs3.9bn. Of the total cost of the projects, approximately Rs3.5bn will be provided by the government of Japan through JICA, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the remaining Rs396 million will be provided by the government.

“Two MRI machines will be procured with Rs316m. One will be open-ended so it can be used for children. Rs222m have been allocated for the female doctors’ hostel, so a four-storey hostel with 106 rooms will be built,” he added.

Another Rs200m have been approved to upgrade hospital wards.

Dr Ijaz Qadeer, the Pims joint executive director, who also participated in the CDWP meeting, told Dawn the meeting was presided over by Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Khusro Bakhtiar.

“During the meeting the minister said health was among his first priorities, so all the projects would be approved. I hope the projects are completed in just a year,” he said.

A hospital doctor who asked not to be named said it was strange that not a single project for other hospitals was presented meeting, nothing that there were issues such as the extension of Polyclinic and the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, but their managements did not present them.

“However, there are some projects for Pims that have been approved but funding could not be released for them. These projects include upgrading the eye department, ENT and the dialysis department,” he said.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2019