Healthcare infrastructure in Gujarat’s tribal belt is set for a major expansion with a new 800-bed hospital planned in Vyara, Tapi district. The project will also bring a 150-seat MBBS medical college and hostel to the region, creating a combined healthcare and medical education hub.
The initiative, being developed by Torrent Group’s philanthropic arm UNM Foundation in partnership with the Gujarat government, involves an investment of around ₹910 crore.
The new hospital is planned as a replacement for the existing 156-bed General Hospital in Vyara. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel performed the bhoomi pooja for the upcoming facility. Torrent Group officials expect construction to be completed in around 2.5 years.
A temporary arrangement has already been put in place to keep medical services running during construction. A 317-bed transitional hospital has been inaugurated on the existing hospital campus, comprising 271 ward beds and 46 critical-care beds.
The temporary facility also has 24 OPD rooms across 17 specialties, four operation theatres, ICU, NICU/PICU and emergency services. Diagnostic facilities and an eight-bed dialysis unit are also available.
Once the hospital project progresses, the planned medical college will add 150 MBBS seats along with hostel facilities. The initiative is aimed at giving students from rural and tribal communities greater access to medical education without requiring them to move far from home.
According to the UNM Foundation, the wider project could serve nearly 8 lakh people in Tapi and nearby parts of Gujarat and Maharashtra. It could also reduce the need for residents to travel about 75 km to Surat for specialised medical treatment.
Jinal Mehta, Director, Torrent Group, said the project would bring advanced medical care closer to communities in the border districts of Gujarat and Maharashtra while creating access to affordable medical education in the region.
The project is expected to strengthen specialist healthcare availability in South Gujarat while adding new capacity for medical education. The transitional hospital will help maintain patient services as work begins on the larger facility.
(The above image is for illustrative purposes only)
Excellent initiative