PESHAWAR, Feb 12: The city district government has abandoned work on an under-construction hospital because of non-availability of funds, officials said.

The district government initiated work on the women and children’s hospital in early 2003 and it was to be completed by Feb 2005. However, the contractor abandoned work about seven months ago because of shortage of funds, an official said.

Sources in the City Municipal and Development Department (CDMD), which was tasked to undertake the project, said that the agency required Rs87 million to restart work on the project.

They said that provincial and the district governments had so far released Rs55 million, but estimated cost of the project was Rs198 million.

The district government had planned to convert the building of the abandoned Roadways House at Hashtnagri Chowk into women and children’s hospital.

The executing agency had proposed expansion in the old building to enhance the hospital’s capacity.

Provincial government share in the project was Rs70 million while the district government had committed to generate funds for the hospital.

Officials said that the district government had provided only Rs3 million for the hospital so far, while provincial government released Rs15 million.

Besides, the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees (CAR) had also committed to finance the project, because initially the project was meant for Afghan refugees.

The City Municipal and Development Department officials said that about 45 per cent work on the hospital had been completed.

They said that work on multi-storey doctors hostel, nursing hostel and residential quarters for the staff remained incomplete.

Provincial secretary health Abdu Samad Khan told this correspondent that the district government was unable to provide funds for the project and now the provincial government would generate resources to accomplish the scheme.

He said that the health department would take over the project and would include it non annual development programme (ADP) schemes and concerned department had been directed to revise PC-I of the project.