Kolkata: The Government of West Bengal has agreed to provide 100-acre land to set up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) like institution in the state, during the second phase of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).

“The Cabinet had approved the proposal on February 5, 2009 while the implementation of the project will be taken up on the selection of a suitable land in consultation with the State Government,” said the Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ghulam Nabi Azad.

The institution will have a 960-bedded hospital intended to provide healthcare facilities in 42 speciality /super-speciality disciplines.

In the first phase of PMSSY, six AIIMS-like institutions are being taken up, one each at Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Bhubaneswar (Orissa), Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Patna (Bihar), Raipur (Chhattisgarh) and Rishikesh (Uttarakhand).

The construction of housing complex for these institutions has started and is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.