JOHOR BARU, Aug 12 — The tabling of Budget 2023 in October should bring good news for Johoreans when the federal government is expected to approve the construction of the Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) 2 in Kempas here.

In addition to HSA 2, the Pasir Gudang Hospital is being built and has reached 40 per cent completion rate. It is expected to be completed by November 2024.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the construction of HSA 2 will be able to accommodate 350 beds and be equipped with the latest as well as most advanced facilities to increase the health services capacity in the state.

"The construction of two new hospitals in Pasir Gudang and Kempas is expected to help overcome patient congestion at the current Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) and Hospital Sultan Ismail (HSI).

"These two new hospitals will be equipped with more than 700 new beds to cover the utilisation capacity in the Johor Baru city as well as nearby areas.

"We need this investment to ensure better health care. We will also monitor to ensure that the project does not experience delays,” said Khairy during a media conference after the launching ceremony of the Johor state-level Healthy Malaysia National Agenda Tour in Bandar Datuk Onn here.

Also present was Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Meanwhile, Khairy said it is estimated that there are about two million people living in Johor Baru who use the services of specialist doctors at hospitals in the city.

"The situation has caused the cases referred to hospitals in Johor Baru to come from other districts as well.

"Therefore, we need this investment for better health services in the state as at present there is approximately a 90 per cent occupancy rate at HSA and HSI. This figure is quite high for a public hospital,” he said.

Previously, it was reported that Johor Health and Unity Committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said that HSA 2 will start construction in 2024, if it is approved by the government and presented in the Budget 2023.