KAMPAR: Construction on the new Kampar district hospital will start once all land ownership matters have been resolved, says Perak health committee chairman A. Sivanesan.
He said the state was still working on reacquiring some of the land from the owners and hoped that it could be settled within a year.
“We are working on it. The good thing here is it can be settled fast, as they (the landowners) have not built any structures on the land,” he told reporters after a visit to the proposed site for the hospital project near Kampung Changkat Baru here yesterday.
He said there were still 12 landowners left to settle the matter.
The land, Sivanesan said, was given by the state government for resettlement purposes.
“Under Section 4 of the National Land Code, they can be given another site of equal value.
“The Federal Government is concerned about the payment for the land, which will be handled by the state government.
“We will push for it as quickly as possible,” he added.
As for the construction of the hospital, he estimated that it could take about five years.
Sivanesan said last year that a new hospital would be built as the existing one was no longer conducive for healthcare services.
Residents here have also called on the government to build a new hospital to replace the existing 71-year-old district hospital.
He said funding for the new hospital project, which cost about RM500mil, had been approved under Budget 2020.
“The money is still there. We have land. We can proceed with it,” he said, adding that the new hospital would be built on an 11.7ha piece of land.
Sivanesan said the proposed site near Kampung Changkat Baru was suitable as it was located centrally between the three state constituencies of Tualang Sekah, Malim Nawar and Keranji.
“The terrain is flat. It is also near Gopeng, which has no hospital, while folk from Batu Gajah can also come here.
“We have had proposals for several other locations, but this is the best,” he added.
Separately, Sivanesan said he was in discussions with a Chinese company on building multi-level car parks near Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun in Ipoh and near Hospital Taiping.
He said they were still thrashing out the details, adding that the company would bear the cost for building the structures.
