HM the King Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has laid the foundation stone for the new Muharraq hospital in Bahrain.

Construction of the new BD20 million ($53 million) general hospital is expected to take two years.

The consultancy contract has been awarded to French-Bahraini joint venture Ingerop-Aart, in association with Adel Ahmadi Associates, which will carry out the study, design and supervision for the project under a contract is valued at BD1.7 million.

The new hospital will be named after HM the King.

The hospital will have 300 beds, with facilities for geriatric patients.

A modern maternity unit at the hospital will replace the old maternity hospital in Muharraq when it opens.

Health Ministry assistant undersecretary Dr Aziz Al Hamza said that the actual work on the project isn't expected to start until the end of next year and will take another year to complete.

SGHG presses on with Bahrain plan

Manama: The Saudi German Hospital Group (SGHG) still plans to build its proposed 100-bed hospital near the Seef Mall. However, a date to begin construction has yet to be finalised.

The $80 million (BD30.24 million) medical complex will be located in Sanabis on land currently occupied by the Grill Land Restaurant, said SGHG corporate office associate Tauseef Khan.

Project construction originally was set to begin in June 2000, under the direction of Seef Properties and was to have taken two years to complete. However, Seef Properties has now turned it over to the Economic Development Board (EDB).

SGHG is based in Jeddah and is owned by Saudi entrepreneur and real estate investor Sobhi Batterjee and owns a number of hospital in Saudi Arabia.

The new hospital will focus on sub-speciality treatment programmes, notably within orthopaedics and traumatology, for Gulf patients who previously had to travel to Europe or North America for medical attention.

Medical centre set to open

Manama: A new BD600,000 ($1.6 million) medical centre will soon open its doors to people in Salmaniya.

The Children and Mothers' Welfare Society will hand the building over to doctors later this month.

The Welfare Medical Building is then expected to open by the start of next year and will include 12 private clinics already booked by doctors.

"The building has clinics for dermatology, andrology, dental and neurology," said society president Shaikha Lulwa bint Mohammed Al Khalifa.