LAGOS INSPECTS OJO, SOMOLU GENERAL HOSPITALS AS PROJECTS ADVANCE. The Lagos State Government has intensified monitoring of major healthcare infrastructure projects as the 280-bed Ojo General Hospital approaches completion, while construction of the new 180-bed Somolu General Hospital progresses, planned as a specialised centre for head and neck-related medical services. Commissioner for Health Prof. Akin Abayomi, on an inspection tour of the two projects on Friday (accompanied by Special Adviser on Works Dr. (Engr.)
Adekunle Olayinka), said the Ojo facility was about 85 per cent complete and expected to be ready for commissioning by end of 2026 or Q1 2027; high-tech medical equipment and furniture have been ordered, and inspection visits will now be more frequent. At Somolu, he inspected the foundation of the new seven-floor, 180-bed multi-specialist hospital on the former Somolu Local Government headquarters site—about 15 per cent complete—explaining that the size of the catchment population and limits of the current 60-bed hospital drove the decision to build anew; the existing hospital keeps running during construction.
The new Somolu hospital will be a Head and Neck Super-Specialty Centre (Plastic Surgery, Maxillofacial Surgery, ENT, Ophthalmology, Dentistry alongside Medicine, Surgery, Paediatrics, O&G), part of a strategy to turn Lagos general hospitals into centres of excellence and reduce outbound medical treatment. Designs incorporate renewable energy, low-carbon technologies, improved patient/staff movement, water catchment, sewage management and infection control.
About 107,000 registered patients currently use the Somolu facility, with a wider catchment of 5–10 million people. Olayinka confirmed Ojo's 85 per cent completion with minor corrections flagged to the contractor, its solar installation meeting specifications; the Somolu project is expected to be completed by Q3 2027. (Source: followlasg/X)
