Academic hospital for Limpopo

Source: Twitter/@OtpLimpopo

The Premier handed over the site of the new academic hospital - which is set to cost government more than R4bn - to the contractor on Monday, 29 May.

The construction of the hospital is expected to commence in June funded by the National Department of Health on behalf of the Limpopo Department of Health.

The 25 hectares donated by the Polokwane Municipality is located on Webster Street, adjacent to Edupark and bordering similar land donated to the University of Limpopo for the construction of the School of Medicine that will link to the academic hospital.

According to the office of the premier, the social facilitation of the project has been underway since 2022.

Mathabatha said the new facility will improve the quality of lives of people in the province.

“Since I became premier I made it known … that Limpopo needs an academic hospital. It is indeed a dream for the province and the Sadc region based on our strategic location,” Mathabatha said.

The project is expected to generate 1,220 part-time jobs during the construction phase and create 2,461 full-time jobs in Polokwane and the surrounding areas once it is fully operational.

"Our dreams as people of Limpopo are coming close to reality. The commitment we made over the years is finally coming to fruition.

Sole focus on training

“We are glad that upon completion, our province will have a purely tertiary healthcare institution, rendering highly specialised services to medically referred patients," said Mathabatha.

According to the Limpopo Department of Health, the hospital will be built in phases allowing the provincial government to monitor progress and ensure it is completed on time.

The hospital will initially have 488 beds, this will be increased to 688 bed capacity once the project is completed.

The hospital will render services such as oncology, gynaecology, neonatal, paediatric and cardiac, among others.

It is expected to attract more specialists to the province and reduce pressure at the other institutions in the country.