Renamed Pak-China Friendship Hospital, the facility will provide free treatment under the management of Indus Hospital & Health Network.
A hospital built with financial support from China during the COVID-19 pandemic has officially reopened in Islamabad after remaining unused for several years.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the revamped Pak-China Friendship Hospital in Chak Shahzad on October 29. The government has handed over its management to the Indus Hospital & Health Network (IHHN) under a public-private partnership.
The hospital has 182 beds, including 50 intensive care unit (ICU) beds. The government will cover the full cost of patient treatment, allowing people from Islamabad, Rawalpindi and other parts of the country to receive free medical care.
The facility was originally established in 2020 as the Isolation Hospital and Infectious Treatment Centre (IHITC) to treat COVID-19 patients. It was built in just 40 days with the support of the Frontier Works Organisation, the National Disaster Management Authority and the National Institute of Health.
China provided a grant of $4 million for the project, while its total construction cost was estimated at around Rs980 million.
However, after the COVID-19 emergency ended, the hospital became non-operational and remained closed for years due to operational difficulties and a shortage of medical staff.
The federal government later selected Indus Hospital & Health Network to manage the facility. The hospital has now been renamed Pak-China Friendship Hospital to recognise China’s contribution.
During the inauguration, the prime minister directed the health authorities to maintain high standards of medical care and ensure proper management. He also called for a third-party performance audit to monitor the quality of services and accountability.
The hospital is expected to serve patients from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and other areas.
Its reopening brings a long-unused healthcare facility back into public service and is expected to help meet the growing demand for medical treatment in the region.
