Punjab Hospitals Get Rs11.65 Billion Approval for Two Units

Punjab hospitals will get two hospital projects worth Rs11.65 billion, a 50-bed hospital in Bhurban and a children’s hospital in Rawalpindi, under the province’s latest development package.

A 50-bed hospital will be built in Bhurban, Murree, at a cost of Rs1.507 billion. A children’s hospital in Rawalpindi has been approved at a cost of Rs10.143 billion.

The health-sector allocations were part of 19 schemes worth Rs126.668 billion cleared during the 13th meeting of the Provincial Development Working Party on Friday.

What the Punjab hospitals package covers

The Bhurban hospital will serve the hill station town and the surrounding Murree hills, where residents and visitors now travel down to Rawalpindi or Islamabad for hospital care. A 50-bed facility in the town puts basic inpatient care, maternity services and emergency treatment within reach of the hill communities.

The Rawalpindi project is the larger of the two by far. At Rs10.143 billion, the children’s hospital will add dedicated paediatric capacity to a city that serves as the health hub for the Potohar region and northern Punjab. Rawalpindi’s existing hospitals already treat patients from Murree, Attock, Chakwal and Jhelum, and a specialist children’s hospital will ease pressure on their general wards.

The province has not yet announced start dates for either project. Those details usually follow once the schemes move from approval to tendering and contracting.

Part of a wider Rs126.65 billion package

The two hospitals were approved alongside 17 other schemes at the same working party meeting. Together, the 19 schemes are worth Rs126.668 billion, which makes the health allocation close to a tenth of the package.

The Provincial Development Working Party is the forum that clears development schemes before funds are released. Its 13th meeting of the current cycle covered schemes across sectors, with health taking two of the 11 slots. The province has been announcing schemes across sectors this year, from matric exam schedules for 2027 to the completion of the Lillah-Jhelum dual carriageway.

The approvals come in a year when Punjab has been spending heavily on public services. The province has also set aside Rs6.8 billion for a diabetes programme, and its school system has seen private events banned at public schools as part of a wider push on public institutions.

For Rawalpindi, the children’s hospital lands alongside other long-running civic projects in the city, including the Rawalpindi Ring Road, whose inauguration has been postponed for a ninth time. The contrast is familiar to residents: new schemes are announced while older ones drag on, so the test for both hospitals will be construction, not approval.

The meeting cleared more than hospitals. The largest single approval was Rs18.862 billion for infrastructure, academic and operational facilities at the Punjab University of Technology in Rasul, Mandi Bahauddin. The working party also approved the MPA Hostel Lahore Phase-II at Rs6.881 billion and a Provincial Traffic Management and Command Centre at Qurban Police Lines, Lahore, for Rs3.246 billion. Both hospital schemes were revised approvals rather than first-time schemes: the Rawalpindi children’s hospital is the long-delayed project on Asghar Mall Road, renamed from the Mother and Child Hospital and given a December 31, 2026 completion target.

Frequently asked questions

How much will the two hospitals cost?

The two projects together cost Rs11.65 billion. The Bhurban hospital costs Rs1.507 billion, and the Rawalpindi children’s hospital costs Rs10.143 billion.

Where will the hospitals be built?

The 50-bed hospital will be built in Bhurban, Murree. The children’s hospital will be built in Rawalpindi.

When were the projects approved?

They were cleared at the 13th meeting of the Provincial Development Working Party on Friday, as part of 19 schemes worth Rs126.668 billion.

How many beds will the Bhurban hospital have?

It will have 50 beds.

What happens next?

The schemes will move to tendering and contracting. No start dates or completion timelines have been announced yet.