The inauguration of the hospital in the Al Jahra Governorate – Al Qasr Region by the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah took place at the medical complex’s main hospital building, with the attendance of the Crown Prince of the State of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and Kuwait National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim, along with a select group of ministers and other decision-makers.

President of Financial and Administrative Affairs in Amiri Diwan, Abdul Aziz Saud Ishaq, said the project was initiated in 2013, following the orders of the Emir of Kuwait, to meet the increased patient demands in the state. The project was developed by Amiri Diwan, in collaboration with Pace – one of the leading multidisciplinary consultants in the region. Construction work commenced in March 2015 and was fast-tracked to completion in three years.

The new hospital will provide all secondary care clinical specialities as well as select tertiary care clinical services, complemented by all clinical and non-clinical support. A helipad is located on the top roof of the Diagnostic and Treatment Block, right above the Emergency Department’s Trauma Section. The hospital also includes outpatient clinics, renal dialysis and outpatient radiology centres, added Ishaq.

Pace CEO Tarek Hamed Shuaib said the medical complex comprises eight separate buildings with the most prominent being the main hospital building, which rises to 15 storeys and has a total built-up area of 440,000 sq m.

“The architectural design process started with a concept based on the introduction of Nature to the internal environment. The purpose of this is to create harmony within the facilities, as a means of contributing to the treatment and healing of patients. Green areas and interior spaces play an active part in strengthening this direction of design, creating an atmosphere full of life in numerous spaces,” he said.

The KD365-million ($1.18 billion) project includes a fully equipped 1,234-bed hospital, a fully-equipped dental facility with 115 treatment rooms and a regional health administration building. It also features a women’s centre; trauma centre; 32 operating suites including two hybrid operating rooms, a hybrid CT operating suite, and a hybrid MRI operating suite.

The outpatient facilities have 22 departments with 135 clinics with state-of-the-art equipment which includes a 10-seat hyperbaric chamber, the only one in Kuwait. Other service buildings include a public car park and staff car park, both accommodating 5,000 cars and two emergency shelters, each for 300 people, Shuaib noted.– TradeArabia News Service