LARKANA: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday approved the progress, design, scope and financial plan for a new 600-bed hospital in Larkana, calling it a major healthcare project for upper Sindh.
Chairing a meeting, the CM said the hospital will be completed within two years. The groundbreaking ceremony is planned for March 2026. The first tower will be completed within one year, while the second tower will be completed in the following year. He issued necessary instructions to the Planning & Development and Health departments.
The meeting was attended by Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Chairman Planning & Development Najam Shah, Finance Secretary Fayyaz Jatoi, Secretary to the CM Raheem Shaikh, Health Secretary Rehan Baloch, Dr Saeed Qureshi and Project Director Kashif Khuhro. The Larkana commissioner joined the meeting through a video link.
The CM said the hospital project was launched on the instructions of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. He added that, in line with the chairman’s vision, the hospital will provide quality healthcare facilities to the people of upper Sindh.
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Officials informed the meeting that the hospital will be a six-storey building with a basement and will be constructed in two phases. It will have a total capacity of 596 beds and will function as a 600-bed tertiary care hospital.
Under Phase I, a six-floor tower with a basement will be built, providing 288 nursing-care beds, 92 emergency beds and 48 ICU beds. Phase II will add 144 nursing-care beds and 24 ICU beds. After completion, the hospital will have 432 nursing-care beds, 92 emergency beds and 72 ICU beds in total.
The CM said the hospital will offer modern emergency services, outpatient departments, radiology, dialysis, laboratories, a blood bank, endoscopy and day-surgery units.
It will also have eight operation theatres, pre- and post-operative wards, recovery areas, and specialised medical and surgical ICUs. Rehabilitation services, administrative offices and waiting areas for attendants will also be included.
The basement will house support facilities such as a kitchen, staff dining area, CSSD, laundry, mortuary, medical gas plant, waste-management system, storage areas and loading and unloading docks.
The ground floor will include emergency triage, radiology, medical and surgical OPDs, pharmacy, dialysis unit, ER observation wards for male and female patients, rehabilitation and administration. The first floor will have endoscopy, day surgery, super-speciality OPDs, pathology lab, blood bank, operation theatres, pre-operative wards, recovery areas and ICUs.
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The second floor and the third to sixth floors will mainly consist of patient wards, ICU extensions, visitors’ lobbies and support areas. The top floor will house machine rooms and lift services.
The meeting was told that the total covered area of the hospital will be about 604,494 square feet. An academic block of 48,000 square feet and a parking plaza covering 120,000 square feet will also be built.
Financial overview
The CM was informed that the estimated cost of civil works is around Rs3.108 billion. This includes the main hospital building, additional civil works, non-scheduled items and external development.
CM Murad Ali Shah said the Larkana hospital is a flagship project aimed at providing modern and affordable healthcare to the people of upper Sindh. He directed the concerned departments to ensure transparency, strict quality control and timely completion of the project.
He added that the hospital should meet international healthcare standards, especially in emergency care, intensive care and specialised services, so that patients from Larkana and nearby districts do not need to travel to Karachi for advanced treatment.
The meeting ended with instructions to complete all formalities and begin implementation in March 2026.
