Prime Minister Barzani lays the foundation of 100 bed hospital in Amedi

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, on Monday laid the foundation stone of an advanced 100-bed hospital in the Duhok town of Amedi in a bid to accelerate the provision of health services in the area.

The ceremony for the new hospital was attended by the relevant Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials, including the ministers of Interior and Health, as well as the Governor of Duhok Province.

“We [the KRG] have decided to build this hospital in this area, so residents can have better access to health services, rather than having to rely on the health facilities of the city center,” Barzani stated, as he spoke before laying the foundation stone of the new $43 million medical facility.

I’m delighted today to lay the foundation stone of a new 100-bed hospital, the biggest hospital in Shiladze subdistrict, with a project budget of $43m. This is part of our plan to build a better healthcare system in our region, investing in new facilities and equipment. pic.twitter.com/Vb5p75wZ8K

— Masrour Barzani پابەندین# (@masrour_barzani) September 7, 2020

The hospital is designed to be built on 43,000 square meters and will provide essential services and testing, including MRIs and CAT scans, the project’s chief engineer said.  

“The crises have not stopped us from serving our people,” Barzani affirmed, as the region faced a severe economic and health crisis at the start of the new KRG cabinet.

“We might have been unable to deliver the projects on time due to our main focus on dealing with other crises,” he added, as he vowed to execute more projects across the Kurdistan Region.

The new hospital is the second strategic project that the Kurdish Prime Minister has helped to establish in Dohuk Province. In July, he laid the foundation stone for the strategic Food Industrial Zone there.

Read More: PM Barzani lays foundation stone for Food Industrial Zone in Duhok

Besides being an industrial hub for agricultural and food products, the new Duhok zone will provide thousands of job opportunities.

“We promised at the beginning of the new cabinet to develop other economic sectors and not rely on a single source [i.e. public sector],” Barzani said then, as he affirmed, “Developing industrial and agricultural sectors was one of the pledges of our cabinet program.”

The KRG "is your government and is at your service," Barzani said on Monday. "Public servants, ministers, and I are your servants, not your superiors."

“You are our superiors, and it is our duty to serve you,” he continued, as he addressed local residents.

Barzani also recalled the sacrifices that the area’s inhabitants have made to liberate their areas from tyranny and oppression, vowing to “serve” them in the best possible way.

Editing by Laurie Mylroie