By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Lagos State Government has disclosed that it is expanding access to specialised health care with the construction of hospital facilities in Ojo and Somolu, as the 280-bed Ojo General Hospital nears completion and a new 180-bed hospital takes shape in Somolu.
The state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, disclosed this on Saturday, 15 August , 2026, during an inspection of the two projects, explaining that the Ojo hospital was about 85 per cent complete and would be ready for inauguration by the end of the year or the first quarter of 2027.
He said the projects formed part of the state’s plan to increase health care capacity, provide advanced specialist services and reduce the need for residents to seek treatment outside Lagos and Nigeria.
At Ojo, Abayomi disclosed that building work had reached the finishing stage, with high-tech medical equipment and furniture already ordered ahead of inauguration, assuring that government would intensify monitoring to ensure outstanding works met the required standards.
He explained that the new Somolu General Hospital, being developed as a seven-floor, 180-bed facility, was about 15 per cent complete and expected to be finished by the third quarter of 2027, noting that the project became necessary because the existing 60-bed hospital could no longer serve its growing catchment population.
He disclosed that about 107,000 registered patients used the existing facility, while its wider catchment population was estimated at between five million and 10 million people, explaining that government opted to build a new hospital rather than upgrade the old one.
He assured that the existing hospital would continue providing uninterrupted services until the new facility became operational, after which the old structure would be demolished and its site redeveloped for parking and other support services.
Beyond increasing bed capacity, Abayomi disclosed that the new Somolu hospital is expected to serve as Lagos’ head and neck super-specialty centre, providing advanced services in plastic surgery, maxillofacial surgery, ear, nose and throat, ophthalmology and dentistry, alongside core medical services in medicine, surgery, paediatrics, and obstetrics and gynaecology.
He explained that the designation formed part of government’s strategy of transforming general hospitals into centres of excellence with specialised areas of competence, aimed at making advanced medical interventions available locally and reducing outbound medical tourism.
He expressed confidence that over the next five to 10 years, every kind of medical intervention would be available in Lagos across both public and private sectors, such that outbound medical tourism would stop and, in fact, reverse.
The commissioner disclosed that the new hospital designs also incorporated renewable energy, low-carbon technologies, water harvesting, improved sewage management, better movement of patients and workers, and stronger infection prevention and control systems.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Works, Dr Adekunle Olayinka, who accompanied the Commissioner, confirmed the 85 per cent completion status of the Ojo project, disclosing that quality assurance teams had identified minor areas requiring correction, which had already been communicated to the contractor.
He explained that the solar installation at Ojo met the required specifications and would provide an alternative power source once the hospital became operational.
Olayinka disclosed that the Somolu project, which had encountered some initial challenges, had gained momentum after the issues were resolved, noting that the facility would incorporate modern engineering systems, green technologies, carbon-reduction measures and solar power.
The Lagos State Government said the infrastructure projects would complement ongoing health care financing reforms, including compulsory health insurance, as part of efforts to strengthen the state’s health system and establish Lagos as a regional destination for specialised medical care.
The inspection team included officials of the Ministry of Health’s Medical Project Implementation Unit, the Office of Works, Somolu General Hospital management, contractors and technical project management teams.
