Kilpauk Medical College’s mother and child care centre to be shifted to new building due to metro rail work

With Chennai Metro Rail set to take up tunneling work near the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, the hospital’s 200-bed CEmONC centre is being shifted to the newly built six-storey building, Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said.

With Chennai Metro Rail set to take up tunneling work near the Government Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) Hospital, the hospital’s 200-bed Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) centre is being shifted to the newly constructed six-storey building on its premises, Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said.

The Minister inspected the new building, which has been built at a total cost of ₹362.87 crore (₹200.66 crore for the building and ₹162.21 crore for equipment) with funding assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on Wednesday (January 29, 2025).

He told reporters that a tunnel being constructed as part of the ongoing Chennai Metro Rail work was passing through KMC. “Work to build a tunnel 27 metre below the hospital’s CEmONC building will be taken up. As this is a hospital, Chennai Metro Rail Limited, keen on ensuring that the hospital is not affected in any way, has requested us to shift the CEmONC centre as a precautionary measure,” he said.

The centre, which has 200 beds and operation theatres, is being shifted to the new tower block. “It will start functioning from the new building this week,” Mr. Subramanian said.

In total, the new building has a bed strength of 468 and 16 Operation Theatres (OT) that included a hybrid OT, he said, adding that other departments of KMC, including nephrology, anaesthesia, neurology, cardiology, and gastroenterology, would be shifted to the building in a phased manner.

Mr. Subramanian said JICA-funded construction work to the tune of ₹1,634 crore was taken up and completed in seven places across the State. This included KMC, Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai, and Coimbatore Medical College Hospital.

The Minister said that 25 new hospitals — 19 District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospitals and six on par with DHQ hospitals — were coming up in the State. Funds to the tune of ₹1,018 crore were allotted for the work that would be completed in three months.