ISLAMABAD: With an aim to give public sector hospitals some breathing space by catering to the growing number of patients, a delegation from Saudi Arabia met with top officials in Islamabad on Tuesday to discuss the way forward for the construction of a new 200-bed facility in the capital.

Led by Abdullah Al Shoebi from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), the delegation met with Pakistan’s Federal Minister for National Health Services, Aamer Mehmood Kiani on Monday to detail the Kingdom’s support for various projects.

Kiani said that the site for the new hospital has already been finalised and is ready for construction.

"Federal Minister National Health Services was briefed that the 200-bed Islamabad General Hospital at Tarlai will be established at a total cost of Rs 2,500 million on a land measuring 13 acres,” an official statement released on Tuesday read.

The Saudi mission thanked Kiani for taking a personal interest in the project and for expediting the construction work, the statement added.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan has shown a keen interest in health infrastructure development and bringing positive changes in the provision of improved healthcare delivery system for the people living in the rural areas,” Kiani said.

According to the UN's Financial Tracking Service (FTS) report, released in October this year, Saudi Arabia is ranked fourth among the world's major donors of humanitarian aid.

In Pakistan itself, the Kingdom has provided assistance amounting to $107.3 million, which was used in the implementation of 85 projects for displaced people who were affected by floods and earthquakes between 2005 and 2018, the report said.