Africa-Press – Mauritius. Government’s priority remains the good health and wellness of the population and the New Flacq Teaching Hospital, once completed, will provide a better service to the inhabitants of the region, stated the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, this afternoon, at the laying of the foundation stone ceremony of the New Flacq Teaching Hospital in Constance, Flacq.
The Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal; the Minister of National Infrastructure and Community Development, Mr Mahendranuth Sharma Hurreeram; the Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mr Darsanand Balgobin; the Minister of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, Mr Sudheer Maudhoo; and other eminent personalities were also present at the ceremony.
In his address, Prime Minister Jugnauth highlighted that the construction of the New Flacq Teaching Hospital will be implemented in two phases. The first phase of the project consists of the construction of a hospital block which comprises a basement, a ground floor, and six other floors.
The building will accommodate, amongst others, 520 beds, an Intensive Care Unit of 62 beds, and 10 Operation Theatres. As for the second phase, it will consist of the construction of a Teaching Block for 100 students, an auditorium with a capacity to accommodate some 500 students, and a Speciality Block with modern equipment.
The Prime Minister underscored that the first phase of the project, to the tune of some Rs 2.6 billion, will span over 25 arpents. He recalled that, following an analysis to determine if the Dr Bruno Cheong Hospital could be renovated and modernised, it was decided that the better option would be to build the New Flacq Teaching Hospital with state-of-the-art equipment.
Prime Minister Jugnauth pointed out that the contract was awarded to Larsen & Toubro in 2020 adding that the first phase is expected to be completed by end of 2022.
He also remarked that several infrastructural projects are ongoing around the country while others will start soon, among which: a new Eye Hospital in Moka to the tune of Rs 700 million; four Mediclinics in Quartier Militaire, Stanley, Bel Air and Coromandel; several Community Health Centres; and a modern warehouse for the storage of medicine.
Before concluding, Prime Minister Jugnauth encouraged every citizen to eat healthy food and practice a physical activity regularly so as to remain in good health. As for Minister Jagutpal, he stressed that the priority of Government is the wellness of the population.
The New Flacq Teaching Hospital, he observed, will offer a better service to some 170 000 inhabitants of the region who are currently being serviced by the Dr Bruno Cheong Hospital.
He also underlined that the second phase of the project will be the creation of the first Teaching Hospital of the country. This will enable more medical staff to receive adequate training so as to offer a better service to the public, he added.
