The government has decided to open the Pak-China Friendship Hospital in Islamabad on October 27. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is likely to lead the inauguration ceremony.
On the premier’s instructions, the facility will carry this name. Sources said the Ministry of National Health Services and the Infectious Disease Isolation Hospital and Treatment Centre (IHITC) had first planned to call it Margalla Hospital.
Plans for a general hospital and public-private isolation unit
The health ministry and the IHITC have now agreed to run the building as a general hospital. The isolation facility will be operated under a public-private partnership (PPP). The ministry had earlier signed an agreement with the Indus Hospital & Health Network (IHHN) to manage that unit.
Chinese-funded 250-bed hospital deactivated after pandemic
The 250-bed hospital was set up in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chinese government donated $4 million toward its construction. After the pandemic ended, the facility was deactivated because of operational challenges.
