KARACHI: The Sindh government has approved a US$15 million grant to support the development of a 12-storey Emergency Tower at Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC) in Karachi, marking a major public health investment that couples capacity expansion with advanced medical infrastructure.
The funds are being channeled through the Patients’ Aid Foundation (PAF) and will be used specifically for equipment procurement and the establishment of utilities required to run the modern Emergency Tower. This demonstrates a strong public-private partnership model designed to ensure both sustainable operations and high-quality patient care.
Capacity expansion, advanced operating facilities
The newly proposed tower will provide a substantial increase in JPMC’s emergency capability, including:
- 722 emergency beds, a dramatic rise from the current 224 beds in the existing Emergency Department
- 17 fully equipped operating theatres, greatly enhancing JPMC’s surgical and emergency response capacity
- Modern critical-care infrastructure to support high-acuity cases
This increase in capacity is expected to dramatically improve emergency care access, reduce wait times, and offer much-needed critical care resources to underserved, low-income populations in Karachi.
Public-private partnership strengthens healthcare delivery
The project is being executed through a public-private partnership under Patient Aid Foundation. This allows for shared responsibility in both funding and operation, helping to sustain the expanded infrastructure efficiently over the long term.
PAF has already played a transformative role at JPMC, helping to increase the hospital’s bed capacity from 1,100 to 2,208 through prior collaborations. Two major buildings, the 12-storey Sardar Yasin Malik Medical Complex (SYMMC) and the 7-storey Officers’ Ward (Rabia Rashid Soorty Building, RRSB), are under construction and expected to raise total capacity further to 2,584 beds by the end of 2026.
Phased funding and project timeline
The grant from the Sindh government is scheduled to be disbursed in two equal instalments of US$7.5 million, earmarked for Financial Years 2026-27 and 2027-28. Combined with $20 million already pledged by PAF-JPMC donors, the total estimated project cost for the Emergency Tower sits at US$35 million.
By approving this grant, Sindh’s leadership is signaling its commitment to high-quality, accessible emergency care, particularly for the city’s most vulnerable populations.
