JOHOR BARU: There is good news for residents of Pasir Gudang and nearby areas as they will finally get a full-fledged district hospital after waiting for many years.

Pasir Gudang MP Normala Abdul Samad said the project had received approval from the Federal Government under the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP).

She said a 20.23ha land in Jalan Gunung in Bandar Seri Alam township in Pasir Gudang has been identified as the site for the Pasir Gudang public hospital.

“We will push for the project to start as soon as possible when the 11MP start rolling probably in the early 2016,” Normala told a press conference on Tuesday.

She said this after opening the occupational safety health seminar organised by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Southern Region Office in Senai.

Normala hoped phase one of the 100 beds hospital costing between RM100mil and RM150mil would be ready after two years of construction.

She said the number of beds would be increased to 300 under its future expansion and also related facilities to cater to the surge of population here and the surrounding areas.

“The hospital will cater to the medical needs of about 400,000 residents from Pasir Gudang and nearby areas such as Masai, Plentong and Kong Kong,” said Normala.

Presently, Pasir Gudang residents seeking treatment at public hospitals would have to go to the Sultan Ismail Hopsital in Pandan or the Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru.

Separately, she said phase one of the upgrading work of the Pasir Gudang Highway covering 8km stretch from Taman Daya to Plentong costing RM140mil would be completed this September.

Normala said work on phase two of the highway from Plentong to Bandar Seri Alam also stretching 8km and costing RM160mil is expected to start either by the end of the year or early 2016.

“Once fully completed, it will help to reduce congestion and travelling time as presently there are more than 30,000 vehicles using the highway daily,” she said.

source:The star