The long-awaited Lupane Provincial Hospital in Matabeleland North is edging closer to opening, with authorities claiming the first phase of the multi-million-dollar project is now about 80% complete.
For years, St Luke’s Mission Hospital has been acting as the province’s de facto referral hospital despite not officially being designated as one.
Construction of the Lupane Provincial Hospital began in 2004, but the project suffered years of delays amid funding constraints and shifting government priorities.
The project was revived after 2017 and incorporated into broader devolution and infrastructure development programmes aimed at decentralising key public services.
Once operational, the facility is expected to ease pressure on hospitals in Bulawayo, particularly Mpilo Central Hospital and United Bulawayo Hospitals.
Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs and Devolution minister Richard Moyo said authorities were targeting the opening of the first phase between September and November this year.
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Moyo said the hospital would be opened in phases to allow members of the public to start receiving treatment while construction continues on the remaining sections.
“The hospital in Lupane, we are pushing. The first phase should be around 80 percent complete,” said Moyo in an interview with Southern Eye on Sunday.
“It’s a lot of phases but then we are looking at that if the first phase is complete, the hospital gets opened to the public and people start getting treatment while the other phases are being built and then continue.”
The hospital has become one of the government’s flagship infrastructure projects in Matabeleland North, a province that has for decades operated without a fully functional provincial referral hospital.
Previous updates indicated that works on critical sections including the outpatient department, casualty unit, maternity wing, pharmacy, administration block, staff accommodation and laundry facilities were at advanced stages.
Authorities have also said modern medical infrastructure, including gas fittings, sterilisation equipment and biosafety facilities, was being installed as part of preparations for eventual operations.
Earlier this year, Moyo said the Treasury was expected to release an additional US$5 million tranche to facilitate completion of the first operational phase of the hospital.
The phased opening comes amid growing pressure from residents and legislators who have repeatedly questioned the pace of construction on a project that has taken more than two decades to reach the operational stage.
Communities in Matabeleland North have long argued that the absence of a provincial hospital has left residents vulnerable, particularly those requiring specialised services such as cancer screening, surgery and advanced diagnostic care.