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The government is planning to build another medical university in Rajshahi to boost healthcare services for around two crore people residing in the country’s north-western region.
The Medical Education and Family Welfare Division – under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare – has undertaken a massive project titled “Establishment of Rajshahi Medical University (RUM),” a planning ministry senior official told The Business Post.
The division aims to create around 1,150 graduates and post graduates in medical and health education from this institute annually, and they have already sent a proposal to the Planning Commission for approval from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council.
According to the development project proposal (DPP), the cost of this project is estimated at Tk 3,099.57 crore, which will come from the government exchequer. The project – to be implemented by the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital – is set to be completed by June 2025.
The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) is currently the only medical university in this country.
According to the DPP, the proposed medical university will have 100 departments, and 30 of those will be completely new – that are not available in any existing local medical institutions.
The institution will have 42 buildings, including residential and non-residential ones, built on 68 acres of land in Rajshahi. The implementing agency RMCH will procure land for this purpose, division sources say.
About 11,117 medical machineries and equipment, 67,791 furniture and electrical equipment with 61 lifts will also be procured for this project.
Responding to a query, a member of the Socio-Economic Infrastructure Division under the Planning Commission, Mosammat Nasima Begum said, “We held a project evaluation committee (PEC) meeting regarding this important project back in August last year.
“The PEC has decided to implement the massive project in 2-3 phases as building a medical university in Bangladesh is a big task.”
The PEC will also identify the pros and cons of existing medical institutions in the country before implementation of this new project, and consider the financial and execution capacities, according to the meeting’s working papers.
The Planning Commission had asked the Medical Education and Family Welfare Division to restructure the first phase project proposal and send it to the commission. After implementing the first phase successfully, then the next phase of this project will be proposed.
As per the decision of the PEC meeting, the restructured DPP is estimated at Tk 1,893.77 crore. It will be implemented by June 2025, officials of the commission said.
The planning commission has recommended forming a 6-member scrutiny committee to examine the quantity and price of the infrastructure related materials, medical equipment and furniture for the project.
The director general of Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division will be the committee’s convener, and the recommendations of the committee must be included in the project proposal, reads the DPP.
