The Korea International Cooperation Agency has broken ground on the first hospital specializing in critical care in Iraq slated for completion in 2023, the state-run overseas aid agency said Thursday. 

The four-story Iraq-Korea Critical Care Specialty Hospital will be built on a 7,000-square-meter site in the country’s capital, Baghdad, with the KOICA injecting a total of $39.5 million for the project. 

Once completed, the hospital will be equipped with eight operating rooms, 100 sickbeds and three examining rooms. It will be run by 645 Iraqi medical staff, who had received professional training from South Korean medical experts. 

KOICA expects the new hospital will contribute to enhancing the level of expertise in intensive care services in the country, and also reduce the fatalities of critically ill patients. 

On Wednesday, the agency held a ground breaking ceremony for the hospital, attended by Iraq’s Health Minister Hassan Mohammed al-Tamimi, South Korea‘s ambassador to Iraq, Jang Kyung-wook and country director of KOICA Office in Iraq, Lee Dong-hyun. 

“Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, building the critical care specialty hospital carries an important meaning,“ Jang said at the ceremony. ”This shows exactly how we will be able to preemptively prepare for an increase in treatment demand for critically ill patients in the post-COVID era.”

“The project will facilitate the provision of excellent medical services to Iraqi people suffering from the wars and terrorist attacks,” al-Tamimi said.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)