A joint venture of the local SSH and Italy’s Studio Altieri has been awarded the main design consultancy contract for work on a hospital in Kuwait.

The joint venture will work on the KD220m ($727m) Kuwait New Maternity Hospital, being developed by Kuwait’s Ministry of Public Works.

In May last year MEED reported that Italy’s Impresa Pizzarotti was appointed as the main contractor for the design and build of the maternity hospital in the Shuwaikh area, which will have 600 beds for adult women and 216 neonatal intensive care beds.

The hospital will be located adjacent to the existing maternity hospital and will have 11 storeys as well as cover a total area of 2.2 million square feet.

The contract with Impresa Pizzarotti involves designing, constructing, equipping and maintaining the hospital.

The surgery department includes 26 obstetrics and gynaecology operating suites, as well as 42,000 sq ft of diagnostic imaging space with two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units. The facility will also have 228 labour, delivery, recovery and postpartum (LDRP) rooms.

The hospital will include antenatal and gynaecology, maternal and foetal assessment and early pregnancy assessment outpatient units. There will be an education and training centre, and several public retail and dining venues.

The project is part of a plan by the Ministry of Health to expand nine hospitals to improve the provision of public health services in Kuwait.