The Tanjong Karang Hospital project, which has been delayed for a decade, will finally be completed by November 2020, said Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad

He said the hospital would be a Minor Specialist Hospital offering nine specialist services.

"In the effort to ensure the people receive the best medical care, the Health Ministry is committed to upgrade the hospital with specialists apart from expanding bed capacity.

"The new hospital will have 150 beds and offer nine specialists apart from emergency services and general medicine namely general surgery, orthopaedic, paediatric, obstetrics and gynaecology, anaesthesiology, critical treatment, radiology and psychiatry," he said when met by reporters after a visit to the hospital today.

Also present was Tanjong Karang Hospital director Dr Mohd Zamri Wagiman.

Among others, the project see the establishment of a maternity ward, paediatric ward, daily care ward and intensive care unit.

Dzulkefly said the capacity of the present hospital building which was built in 1966 could not meet the needs of the residents in the area.

Tanjong Karang MP Tan Sri Noh Omar had earlier said the delay in building the hospital costing RM269 million was due to technical problems between the Works Department and the contractor.

Dzulkefly added that pilling had began for the new hospital located on a 16.1 hectare site near the existing the hospital would be the main medical centre to the benefit more than 20,000 surrounding residents.

Earlier today, Dzulkefly also presented Aidilfitri contributions to 40 patients in the hospital.

- Bernama