After decades of planning and preparations, a 100-bed, fully equipped Subic General Hospital is finally set to rise here.

“It was the dream that was first conceptualized during the first year in office of our father, former mayor, now Congressman Jeffrey Khonghun,” Mayor Jonathan John Khonghun said in his message during a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday.

Khonghun said when he was elected as mayor in 2019, one of the many priority projects of his administration was the construction of the general hospital.

However, the project was deferred as the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis started in early 2020.

“But because of Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen the importance of health care system. Today, we are holding this groundbreaking ceremony to officially make that dream a reality. A dream come true that will benefit the people of Subic and those from the northern municipalities of Zambales,” he added.

The proposed Subic General Hospital will be built inside the 5,000-square meter property on the main road in Sitio Mapanao in Barangay Cawag. The budget allocation is PHP100 million.

The property, which used to be a fish farm, was developed and donated by Wilfredo Tan, president of Fiesta Communities Inc.

Expected to be fully operational in two to three years, the two-story hospital will have a floor area of 2,400 square meters and a capacity of 100 beds, complemented with a four-bed treatment area, four-bed observation area, operating room, sterilization room, isolation room, and other functional rooms, and wards.

For easy access to and from the functional rooms and areas, the new hospital will have three public elevators, one service elevator, and three public stairs.

Meanwhile, Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane congratulated Khonghun, his brother, Vice Governor Jay Khonghun, and Rep. Jeffrey Khonghun of the province’s First District, for the concerted efforts in facilitating the construction of the first hospital in Subic.

“This hospital is a work of the good leader who knows what should be done for the betterment of his constituents and the people of the whole province,” Ebdane said.

Also present during the event were Department of Health (DOH) Assistant Secretary Ma. Francia Laxamana, DOH Regional Director Corazon Flores, provincial board members, and other local officials.

Laxamana expressed her full support for the project and promised to extend all the necessary assistance that the DOH could give to the new hospital. (PNA)