The Super Specialised Hospital at Bangladesh Medical University in Dhaka has remained largely idle for over three years after its inauguration in September 2022, allegedly due to widespread corruption and prolonged negligence by the authorities.
The 750-bed hospital facility was built to reduce overseas medical travel and save foreign currency, but it has instead become a burden, with foreign-funded medical equipment worth millions of takas lying unused and at risk of deterioration.
Constructed at a cost of Tk 1,900 crore with South Korean funding, the hospital is operating at less than 10 per cent of its capacity. Much of its highly sophisticated equipment remains boxed even after the expiry of their two-year warranty period.
Although the hospital was primarily designed to serve outbound patients and reduce overseas medical expenses, it has failed to deliver any meaningful service.
The hospital management said that around Tk 60 lakh is being spent every month on operational costs, even though many officials are working there on additional duties without receiving any payment from the hospital.
They also said that the authorities had yet to finalise an operational model, as Bangladesh Medical University proposed running the hospital as a corporate entity and the health ministry recommended operating it as an institute.
The hospital director, Professor Saifullah Munshi, said that the hospital was currently operating with the support of Bangladesh Medical University, as it had so far failed to appoint the required manpower.
In February 2025, the hospital authorities cancelled the appointments of more than 544 doctors, nurses, and staff over alleged corruption in the recruitment process during the Awami League regime that was ousted from power on August 5, 2024 amid a mass uprising.
Bangladesh Medical Association’s former president Rashid-e-Mahbub alleged that corruption and nepotism during the past government resulted in a lack of human resources to operate existing equipment.
‘We are not certain when the hospital will begin full-scale operation. At present, we are providing limited services to a small number of patients every day,’ Professor Saifullah said, adding that without appointing staff, there was little they could do.
The recruitment process is still awaiting approval from the next syndicate meeting, which is yet to be scheduled.
Different operational plans are needed to run the hospital, as it is not like other government hospitals, said Rashid-e-Mahbub.
‘To receive specialised services, patients would need to be willing to spend more money than at other government hospitals. This is also crucial for running the hospital effectively,’ he said.
The hospital officials said that they were providing limited services for a small number of patients as the university authorities attached some 18 doctors and 70 staff to the hospital.
The hospital, the first of its kind in the country, was established to provide advanced specialised treatment to patients who otherwise seek healthcare abroad. It, however, has failed to become fully operational despite a huge demand for quality healthcare.
Patients and their relatives alleged that, instead of providing relief, prolonged delay had added to their sufferings.
They demanded immediate full-scale operations to ensure access to specialised healthcare services in Bangladesh.
On September 14, 2022, the then prime minister inaugurated the hospital, which promised to provide medical services that are unavailable in most general hospitals in the country.
Hospital officials said that an average of 300 patients receives outpatient services, mainly consultation with doctors, and about 40 patients receive inpatient care daily.
During a visit to the hospital at Shahbagh in the capital on January 14 , most of the floors of the 13-storey building were found locked, while less than 200 people were seen on the first five floors of the hospital in one hour between 11:00am and 12:00 noon.
An escalator of the hospital was found out of order, while couple of lifts, meant to facilitate patients and service providers, were found switched off.
A salesman at the medicine shop on the ground floor of the hospital said, ‘We spend most of the time without any customers. A very few patients visit the hospital.’
Despite huge demand, 85 robots donated by the Chinese government last year, 22 of them equipped with artificial intelligence, have remained unused for physiotherapy services.
Only 18 beds of the hospital’s 50-bed Intensive Care Unit are currently operational, while the remaining ones are at risk of damage or may already be unusable, officials said.
Professor Saifullah admitted the risk of damage to valuable equipment but said that no formal assessment had yet been conducted.
He also said that only 20 permanent doctors had been appointed so far. Of them, only eight are currently on duty, and the remaining ones are now on study leave.
Hospital officials attributed the paralysis of operations to flawed policy decisions and corruption at different stages of construction, procurement, and recruitment.
An official with close links to South Korean authorities said that South Korea funded 17 similar hospitals in different countries, including Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Sudan.
‘Except for Bangladesh, all other countries are operating their hospitals successfully,’ the official said.
Technical team members said that most critical equipment, including ICU incubators and ventilators, was purchased between 2021 and 2022 with a two-year warranty. Much of the equipment has remained boxed throughout the warranty period, and its current condition remains unknown.
The hospital authorities did not allow this correspondent to inspect the equipment rooms.
In February 2025, the Anti-Corruption Commission inspected the hospital over allegations of corruption and seized several documents.
The commission found that 157 employees were sent to South Korea for specialised training on the condition that they would serve the hospital for at least five years upon return. However, 85 of them failed to join.
The investigators also found that a large number of staff were sent abroad for training in violation of project guidelines, along with irregularities in the operation of two banks and a pharmacy on the hospital premises.
The hospital authorities said that they were cooperating with the commission’s investigation but admitted that no internal inquiry had been conducted and no punitive action had been taken against anyone so far.
The 13-storey hospital, built on 3.4 acres of land near Bangladesh Medical University and opposite Hotel Intercontinental, was constructed with funding from the South Korean government’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund, the Bangladesh government, and BMU.
The budget of the project was set at Tk 1,561 crore but the project cost finally stood at Tk 1,900 crore in 2024. The project was given another no cost extension until June 2026.
Under BMU guidelines, the hospital is designed to have 14 ultra-modern operation theatres, a 100-bed ICU, a 100-bed emergency unit, 44 cabins, and 540 general beds.
Authorities estimate that around 1,600 doctors and 900 other staff are required to operate the hospital fully.
The specialised services planned include bone marrow transplants, gene therapy, and robotic surgery.
Every year, approximately 8,00,000 Bangladeshis travel abroad, mainly to India, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Dubai, for medical treatment, and spend millions of dollars in foreign currency.
