The construction of the Khulna divisional children’s hospital was completed nearly a year ago to expand specialised healthcare for children in the region.
Yet, due to poor coordination among government agencies, the Tk114-crore facility has neither been handed over nor staffed with doctors, nurses, or other essential personnel.
Authorities remain unable to say when the crisis will be resolved or when the hospital will begin operations.
According to Public Works Department (PWD) sources, the project was approved in 2017. The site — 4.8 acres opposite the Mayuri residential area at the junction of Krishnanagar in Batiaghata and Chakmathurabad mouzas in Dumuria — was acquired by the district administration in 2019 for Tk52 crore and handed over to the PWD.
In 2020, the PWD floated a tender for construction of the basement and a one-storey structure in the first phase. Raiti Enterprise, the selected contractor, received the work order on May 14, 2020, with a completion target of October 31, 2021, at a cost of Tk26 crore.
In the second phase, a revised plan expanded the building from two to five storeys, at a cost of Tk37 crore. This phase included a kitchen, substation, pump house, boundary wall, internal roads, drains and a deep tube well, with a deadline of June 2023.
However, work in both phases missed deadlines multiple times. The project was formally shown as completed in June 2024, despite the five-storey building being in an unsafe and incomplete state.
While an RCC road has been built at the entrance, the boundary wall and main gate on the south side are missing.
As a result, cattle roam freely on the premises, raising concerns about hygiene, theft and drug addicts entering the area.
PWD-1 Executive Engineer Kamrul Hasan said: “Tendering was delayed due to land acquisition issues. After construction began, work was halted for some days over complications with the entrance. The project was completed in June 2024. We sent several letters to the Khulna Civil Surgeon for inspection, but received no response.”
Khulna Civil Surgeon Dr Mahfuza Khatun, however, said: “Although the project is marked as complete, there is no boundary wall on one side and no main gate, leaving the site unprotected. There is also no furniture or manpower to begin operations.”
PWD officials said the project did not include construction of the full boundary wall or the main gate.
A new Tk98-crore project has now been proposed to extend the building from six to ten floors and to construct the remaining boundary wall, roads, drains, main gate, and quarters for nurses and staff.
Advocate Babul Howlader, member secretary of Khulna Civil Society, said: “There is no separate government children’s hospital in the entire Khulna division. People of the southern region had high hopes for this facility. Children deserve better treatment.”
He urged authorities to take immediate steps to open the hospital.
