The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday said the much-anticipated All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) facility announced for the state by the Centre will come up near Madurai at an estimated cost of Rs 1,500 crore.
Chief Minister E. Palaniswami thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for selecting Thoppur for this purpose.
"The 250-bed modern facility will be set up at Thoppur near Madurai at an estimated cost of Rs 1,500 crore," Palaniswami told reporters, adding it will also have 100 MBBS seats.
The AIIMS facility was announced for Tamil Nadu in the 2015-16 Union budget but had faced some delays over the location of the facility, with demands being made by various sections for it to be set up in their respective districts.
Palaniswami recalled that a Central team had earlier visited five locations, including those at Madurai, Erode and Pudukottai districts, before zeroing in on Thoppur.
Assuring all support from the Tamil Nadu government in the establishment of the proposed AIIMS, he thanked Modi for allocating such a facility to the state.
In a letter to Modi, Palaniswami said the late chief minister J. Jayalalithaa was very keen that an institution of the stature of AIIMS be established and made functional in Tamil Nadu.
Jayalalithaa was keen on ensuring Tamil Nadu got such a facility "as it would substantially augment the facilities in the state for providing quality medical education and research and also ensure high-end tertiary-level healthcare in the public sector to benefit the poor and middle classes of the state," he said.
Palaniswami said he has directed state Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar, Principal Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan and other senior officials to provide all necessary support to the Central government to facilitate early commencement of work on the AIIMS campus.