His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, on Monday inaugurated the new expansion of the Queen Alia Military Hospital, which will start receiving patients after renovation that cost JD37 million.

Renovation and maintenance of the hospital, located in Tabarbour, northern Amman, had started in 2014 to modernize its equipment and increase capacity to 405 beds, Petra news agency reported.

At the inauguration, attended by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Lt. General Mahmoud Freihat, King Abdullah listened to a briefing by Brigadier General Ahmad Telfah, the hospital’s director, who noted that the hospital was established in 1987 with an initial capacity of 237 beds.

The expansion, partly funded by the Saudi Fund for Development and the government of Japan, has increased the hospital’s area to 17,500 square meters, according to Telfah, including a three-storey building housing 56 clinics and a separate building equipped with 28 kidney dialysis machines.

His Majesty toured the hospital and visited a number of patients.

The renovated hospital now includes a 23-bed intensive care unit, a 42-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a surgery ward comprising eight operation rooms up to the latest international standards.

Major General Saad Jaber, Director of the Royal Medical Services, said the inauguration of the project, which comes during the 20th anniversary of His Majesty’s assumption of constitutional powers, will alleviate the load on the King Hussein Medical Centre, the Prince Hashim bin Al Hussein Hospital in Zarqa, and Marka Military Medical Centre.

Royal Hashemite Court Chief Yousef Issawi, Amman Mayor Yousef Shawarbeh, Saudi Ambassador to Jordan Prince Khalid bin Faisal bin Turki, and Japanese Ambassador to Jordan Hidenao Yanagi attended the inauguration ceremony.