Union Ministers J P Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan today laid the foundation for establishment of a satellite campus of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar at Samalpur near Balasore town.

“A 300 bedded multi-speciality hospital will be established over 24.91 acres of land, as a satellite centre for AIIMS multi-speciality,” Nadda, the Union Health Minister said at a meeting after laying the foundation stone.

He said the construction of OPD Building and two blocks of Staff Quarters (Phase-I) is expected to be completed within 15 months with the project cost of Rs 35.76 crore.

The satellite centre for AIIMS Bhubaneswar is intended to widen and improve patient care services by creating state-of-the-art infrastructure, bringing specialised healthcare services within reach of people in the region, reducing the average distances served by an institution, catering to the region specific diseases and reducing disease burden in region and adjoining areas, the Union Health Minister said.

Stating that the satellite campus would also reduce the burden on AIIMS, Bhubaneswar considerably, Nadda said. The AIIMS, Bhubaneswar has now been conducting a weekly OPD services at Balasore for more than one year in collaboration with Integrated Test Range (ITR), DRDO.

This satellite centre for which the foundation stone was laid would be functional within a short period of time as the construction work has already been awarded to CPWD.

“I am sure that the AIIMS Satellite Centre at Balasore will be able to bridge that gap. This will help the patients of this region to save expenditures incurred towards travel cost of 400 Kilometres (to and fro) for coming to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar besides saving valuable time,” he said.

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