…Ojo 280-bed hospital 85% complete
By Chioma Obinna
The Lagos State Government has stepped up monitoring of major hospital projects as the 280-bed Ojo General Hospital nears completion, while work progresses on a new 180-bed facility in Somolu planned as a specialised centre for head and neck medical services.
The State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, disclosed this during an inspection of the two projects weekend.
He said the Ojo hospital was about 85 per cent complete and could be commissioned by the end of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027.
Abayomi, accompanied by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Works, Dr Adekunle Olayinka, said the Ojo project had entered its finishing stage, with high-tech medical equipment and furniture already ordered.
“We are at the point where we’re doing the finishing touches. We’ve ordered the high-tech equipment. We’ve ordered the furniture,” he said.
He added that monitoring would be intensified to ensure the facility was completed to the required standards.
At Somolu, Abayomi inspected the foundation of the new seven-floor, 180-bed multi-specialist hospital, which is about 15 per cent complete.
The project is being constructed on the former Somolu Local Government headquarters site following the relocation of the council administration.
According to Abayomi, the decision to construct a new hospital rather than upgrade the existing 60-bed facility was driven by the size of its catchment population and the limitations of the current hospital.
He assured residents that clinical services at Somolu General Hospital would continue uninterrupted while construction lasts.
“Instead of upgrading it, we decided to build a brand-new Somolu Hospital,” he said.
The existing hospital will eventually be demolished after the new facility becomes operational, with the site redeveloped for parking and other supporting services.
Abayomi said the new Somolu hospital would be designated as a Head and Neck Super-Specialty Centre, providing Plastic Surgery, Maxillofacial Surgery, Ear, Nose and Throat, Ophthalmology and Dentistry, alongside Medicine, Surgery, Paediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
He said the specialisation was part of the state’s plan to transform selected general hospitals into centres of excellence with designated super-specialties.
The initiative, he explained, would expand access to advanced medical care and reduce the need for Lagos residents to travel abroad for specialised treatment.
“Over the next five to ten years, we believe that every kind of medical intervention will be available in Lagos in both the public and the private sector, so that outbound medical tourism will stop, and in fact, it will reverse,” Abayomi said.
The Commissioner also disclosed that the new hospital designs incorporated renewable energy, low-carbon technologies, water harvesting, improved sewage management, infection prevention and control measures, as well as systems designed to improve the movement of patients and staff.
He said about 107,000 registered patients currently access services at the Somolu facility, while its wider catchment population is estimated at between five and 10 million people, highlighting the need for a larger and more modern hospital.
Olayinka said the inspection confirmed that the Ojo project was about 85 per cent complete, while quality assurance teams had identified minor areas requiring correction by the contractor.
He said the solar installation at Ojo met the required specifications and would provide an alternative power source when the hospital becomes operational.
According to him, the Somolu project, which initially encountered some challenges, was now progressing after the issues were resolved.
He said the facility was expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2027, with modern engineering systems, green technologies, carbon-reduction measures and solar power incorporated into the design.
The inspection team included officials of the Ministry of Health’s Medical Project Implementation Unit, the Office of Works, Somolu General Hospital management, contractors and technical project management teams.
Abayomi said the infrastructure investments, alongside healthcare financing reforms, compulsory health insurance and plans for a University of Medicine and Health Sciences, would strengthen Lagos’ health system and improve access to specialised care.
