The government on Tuesday approved a major healthcare infrastructure project worth Tk 2,459.34 crore to establish a 1,000-bed Bangladesh-China Friendship General Hospital in Nilphamari, aiming to expand access to modern medical services in northern Bangladesh.
The approval came at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), with the project designed to ease pressure on hospitals in Dhaka and Rangpur by decentralising advanced healthcare facilities.
Titled “Establishment of a 1,000-bed Bangladesh-China Friendship General Hospital,” the project will be implemented in Nilphamari sadar upazila under Rangpur division from January 2026 to December 2029.
Of the total project cost, Tk 179.27 crore will be financed from government funds, while Tk 2,280.07 crore will come from external sources, mainly through financial and technical assistance from the Chinese government.
Planning Commission officials said the hospital will be a modern, specialised tertiary-level facility providing integrated general and advanced medical services, including nephrology, cardiology, oncology and neurology, enabling effective treatment of complex and long-term diseases.
Briefing reporters after the ECNEC meeting, Planning Adviser Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud described the project as a strategic and timely initiative. He said the proposal originated from high-level discussions during the Chief Adviser’s recent visit to China, where the Chinese government expressed interest in supporting the construction of a state-of-the-art hospital in Bangladesh.
Dr Mahmud clarified that the decision to establish the hospital in Nilphamari was taken by Bangladesh as part of a broader plan to decentralise major national institutions from Dhaka.
“If we want real decentralisation, large and advanced institutions—whether universities, hospitals or technology institutes—must be established outside Dhaka,” he said.
He added that Nilphamari was strategically chosen due to its location in the poverty-prone Rangpur region and its proximity to Syedpur Airport, which will enhance accessibility. Given the hospital’s planned standard, he expressed hope that patients from neighbouring countries may also seek treatment there.
The planning adviser noted that while the project has been approved to facilitate the signing of a formal agreement with China, the final cost structure may be adjusted once the exact scale and nature of Chinese assistance are finalised.
According to officials, the hospital will feature modern emergency facilities, ICU, CCU and HDU units, advanced diagnostic services and state-of-the-art operation theatres. It will also contribute to medical research, training and human resource development, strengthening the country’s overall health sector capacity.
Modern hospital automation, electronic health records (EHR) and digital health systems will be introduced to improve efficiency and patient care, while reducing treatment costs and travel-related hardship for patients in northern districts.
The project’s key components include a 10-storey main hospital building with a semi-basement, residential facilities for doctors, nurses and staff, a mosque, kitchen, waste management plant, service buildings, gas and VIE tank facilities, a helipad, automated ambulance system, and power generation and substation units.
Officials said Nilphamari district, with a population of around 2.1 million, currently depends mainly on a 250-bed general hospital and upazila-level primary healthcare facilities, which lack advanced services such as ICU, dialysis, cancer care, neuro-emergency and cardiac treatment.
As a result, critically ill patients are often referred to Rangpur or Dhaka, leading to delays, higher costs and increased risks. The new hospital is expected to significantly reduce these challenges and ensure timely, quality and life-saving healthcare services for millions of people in northern Bangladesh.
