The Ministry of Shipping has cleared the extension of land lease by Visakhapatnam Port to the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) hospital at Malkapuram, paving the way for construction of a 300-bed super-speciality hospital.
The proposal has been hanging fire for a long time following expiry of the lease period.
A 100-bed hospital exists on a 10-acre plot. Due to shortage of staff and neglect, the hospital has been offering only out-patient service after shutting down the in-patient facility. In a dilapidated condition, the building needs a lot of investment for repairs and reconstruction.
“Following a lot of persuasive efforts, the Ministry has finally extended the lease period for 30 years. I hope the work on the super- speciality hospital, a long-pending demand of the area, will take shape soon,” MP K. Haribabu told The Hindu on Thursday.
The existing hospital has eight out-patient wards with separate units for ophthalmology and orthopaedics. It is mostly managed by outsourced manpower.
Though the proposal for giving it a facelift was mooted in 2013, lack of initiative on the part of political leadership led to inordinate delay.
Union Minister of State for Labour Bandaru Dattatreya, during his visit to the hospital in May this year, reviewed the issue with port Chairman and other officials.
Ministry of Shipping extends land lease, paving the way for construction of super-speciality facility
