LAHORE, July 29: The first purpose-built building for the de’Montmorency Institute of Dental Sciences is going to be constructed at an 80-kanal tract in Jubilee Town. Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is expected to inaugurate the establishment of the institute on Sunday (tomorrow).

It will be the first purpose-built dental institute in Punjab since independence. Some 70 years ago, the British government had established the institute within the dental hospital for four students.

It continued to work in the small building of the Punjab Dental Hospital till November 2002. After a long struggle, college principal Prof Rafique Chattha had managed to acquire a major portion of the Government Nawaz Sharif Hospital, Yakki Gate, and shifted in November 2003.

It is learnt that Nespak will execute the construction of the institute, which will cater to the needs of dental education for the next half a century. The building will have a five-storey teaching hospital with basement, three-storey institute, three-storey dental schools, two floors of postgraduate research centre and administration block, four-storey hostel for girls and three-storey hostels each for girls and doctors.

It is also learnt that the LDA had taken possession of 20 kanals from the original 100-kanal land meant for the institute. The institute management has planned to request the chief minister to order handing over of 20-kanal tract for the construction of institute staff residences.