JEDDAH, 8 February 2005 — The Ministry of Health has allocated SR1.68 billion this fiscal year to establish 24 hospitals and four women’s colleges in various parts of the Kingdom, according to Dr. Khaled Al-Mirghalani, the ministry’s spokesman.

He said allocations were also made for 10,000 new health jobs including 4,000 administrative jobs to run a number of hospitals. The new colleges will be established in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam at a total cost of SR45 million.

Mirghalani said three of the new hospitals would be established in the Riyadh region at a total cost of SR214 million. The Maternity and Children’s Hospital in Makkah and the Psychiatric Hospital in Jeddah will be renovated at a cost of SR270 million.

Other new hospitals to be established are in Qunfuda, Al-Ahsa, Hafr Al-Baten, Madinah, Hail, Buraidah, Nabhaniya (Qasim), Arar, Abha, Tabuk, Al-Jouf, Baha, Jizan and Najran. Two health centers in Taif and Qunfuda will be converted to 50-bed hospitals at a cost of SR22.5 million each.

The spokesman said three pediatric health centers have been opened this year at Olaya, Sulaimaniya, and Al-Raed in the Riyadh region, adding that the new centers would work round the clock.

He said health centers would not work on Thursdays, adding that they would work only one shift from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on other days.

“The ministry has made allocations for 20 diabetic centers at hospitals in various parts of the Kingdom,” Mirghalani said, adding that these centers would cost SR30 million.

He said there are plans to establish new medical towers in Buraidah, Makkah, Jizan and Taif at a total cost of SR169 million.

Allocations worth SR270 million have been made to furnish and equip 11 hospitals including 400-bed Maternity and Children’s Hospital in Madinah, 150-bed hospital in Khamis Mushait, 150-bed hospital in Dawadmi, 150-bed hospital in Mahail Asir and 150-bed Wadi Dawasser Hospital.