Construction of Salyan District Hospital Buildings Resumes After Two Years
April 16, Salyan – Construction work on two hospital buildings at Salyan District Hospital, which had been stalled for two years, has resumed. The buildings, initiated to expand specialist services in the district, had their contracts awarded to Arogya-Suvedi JV. The contractor had agreed in April 2021 to complete the work within three years. However, the construction faced multiple interruptions and was halted just before the final stages. Due to the expiration of the project deadline, the work remained unfinished for two years. Now, with an extension granted, construction has restarted.
Local residents have welcomed the revival of the long-delayed construction. Manisha Reule, a resident of Siddha Kumakh Rural Municipality Ward No. 3 who had visited the hospital for treatment, expressed her relief at seeing the project restart. “When I came to the hospital five months ago, I was saddened to see the building abandoned,” she said. “I am happy to hear that work has resumed now.”
Upon hearing the news of the restart, Naveen Bali from Nigalchula, Ward No. 12, Bangad Kupinde Municipality, also expressed optimism, hoping specialist treatment services would soon be available. He added that once the new buildings are ready, specialist services will be operated within the district, relieving patients from the burden of paying high fees outside the district. Initiated by the federal government with a project cost of around NPR 180 million, the scheme aims to operate a 50-bed hospital.
Although nearly 75 percent of the construction was completed within a year through the contractor’s work, the remaining work was not finished on time. After the Ministry of Health extended the deadline, the new completion date has been set as Ashad 10, 2083 (approx. June 24, 2026). The construction company aims to complete the remaining work within six months, provided the bills are paid promptly and no further obstacles arise. Currently, Salyan District Hospital serves over 120 patients daily from Salyan as well as neighboring districts Rolpa and Rukum.
Originally operating with a 15-bed capacity, the hospital has increased to 50 beds due to rising patient demand. However, limitations in infrastructure and building space have posed challenges to expanding services. Although additional services like emergency care and laboratory facilities have been added, Dr. Arjun Kumar Budhamagar, head of the Salyan Health Service Office, noted that inadequate infrastructure has hindered effective service delivery. “We are currently providing services in limited facilities,” he said. “Emergency, lab, and ward services have been expanded, but lack sufficient infrastructure.” He emphasized that once the building construction is complete, expanding specialist services will be much more feasible.