The Lagos State Government says it is expanding access to specialised healthcare with the construction of new hospital facilities in Ojo and Somolu, as the 280-bed Ojo General Hospital nears completion and a new 180-bed hospital takes shape in Somolu.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, disclosed this on Friday during an inspection of the two projects, saying the Ojo hospital was about 85 per cent complete and would be ready for commissioning by the end of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027.
The projects, according to the commissioner, are part of the state’s plan to increase healthcare capacity, provide advanced specialist services and reduce the need for residents to seek treatment outside Lagos and Nigeria.
At Ojo, Abayomi said construction had reached the finishing stage, with high-tech medical equipment and furniture already ordered ahead of commissioning.
“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 said the government would intensify monitoring of the project to ensure that outstanding works were completed to the required standards.
The new Somolu General Hospital, meanwhile, is being developed as a seven-floor, 180-bed facility and is currently about 15 per cent complete. It is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2027.
Abayomi said the project became necessary because the existing 60-bed Somolu General Hospital could no longer adequately serve its growing catchment population.
He disclosed that about 107,000 registered patients currently use the existing facility, while its wider catchment population is estimated at between five million and 10 million people.
“Instead of upgrading it, we decided to build a brand-new Somolu Hospital,” he said.
The existing hospital, he added, would continue to provide uninterrupted services until the new facility becomes operational, after which the old structure would be demolished and its site redeveloped for parking and other support services.
Beyond increasing bed capacity, the new Somolu hospital is expected to serve as Lagos’ Head and Neck Super-Specialty Centre, providing advanced services in Plastic Surgery, Maxillofacial Surgery, Ear, Nose and Throat, Ophthalmology and Dentistry.
It will also provide core medical services in Medicine, Surgery, Paediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Abayomi said the designation was part of the government’s strategy of transforming general hospitals into centres of excellence with specialised areas of competence.
He said the strategy was aimed at making advanced medical interventions available locally and reducing outbound medical tourism.
“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,” he said.
The commissioner said the new hospital designs also incorporated renewable energy, low-carbon technologies, water harvesting, improved sewage management, better movement of patients and staff, and stronger infection prevention and control systems.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Works, Dr. Adekunle Olayinka, who accompanied the commissioner, said the inspection confirmed the 85 per cent completion status of the Ojo project.
He said government quality assurance and control teams had identified minor areas requiring correction, which had been communicated to the contractor.
Olayinka added that the solar installation at Ojo met the required specifications and would provide an alternative power source when the hospital becomes operational.
He said the Somolu project, which encountered some initial challenges, had also gained momentum after the issues were resolved.
According to him, the facility would incorporate modern engineering systems, green technologies, carbon-reduction measures and solar power.
The Lagos Government said the infrastructure projects would complement ongoing healthcare financing reforms, including compulsory health insurance, as part of efforts to strengthen the state’s health system and establish Lagos as a regional destination for specialised medical care.
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.