JOHOR BARU, June 16 — Hospital Pasir Gudang (HPG) will open to the public in phases starting next month, said Johor Health and Environment Committee chairman Ling Tian Soon.
He said the emergency and trauma department, along with the public health and general surgery departments, would begin operations next month.
He said HPG would also have 14 specialist clinics, although the launch of some services would be delayed initially as they required specialist doctors or a complete medical team to be in place.
“At present, the Public Works Department (JKR) has also handed over the project to the Health Ministry who are making final preparations for the initial operations at HPG in July,” he told reporters after the Sultanah Fatimah Foundation 2025 cheque handover ceremony at Southern University College here today.
Present at the event was Southern University College chairman Datuk Vincent Tan Meng Seng and Sultanah Fatimah Foundation chairman Mejar Cina Datuk David Wong Khong Soon.
Ling said the government has also appointed several key positions for HPG, including the hospital’s director, deputy director, and other management staff.
He explained that there are more than 1,800 positions for all departments available to ensure the new 304-bed capacity hospital can operate at an optimal level.
“There are currently certain constraints, therefore we are making plans to request the Health Ministry to send nurses and doctors to serve at HPG or to transfer some of them from existing facilities,” he said.
Ling said HPG would need about a year to fill the required positions before it can operate at full capacity.
“We expect HPG to be fully operational by next year,” he said, adding that it would take time to fill all the necessary roles and complete the team of specialist personnel.
HPG was built at a cost of more than RM380 million, with construction starting in 2020.
Prior to that, the hospital’s development faced delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Movement Control Order (MCO).
On a related matter, Ling said the Health Ministry would forward the working paper for Hospital Sultanah Aminah 2 (HSA 2) to the public-private partnership unit (UKAS) before submitting it to the Cabinet.
He said this step was necessary for the Federal government to proceed with the construction of HSA 2 in Kempas.
“Previously, the land issue, site identification, and preliminary works for HSA 2 have been completed.
“Several technical workshops and discussions on the hospital’s requirements have also been conducted to avoid any overlap,” he said.
Ling has stated that the construction of HSA 2 is expected to help ease congestion at Johor Baru’s two existing hospitals — Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) and Hospital Sultan Ismail (HSI).
The Johor government has designated HSA 2 as a state priority project.
