Mangaluru: The foundation stone laying ceremony of the new surgical ward building in Wenlock hospital held on Monday, December 14.

BJP State president Nalin Kumar Kateel performed foundation stone laying ceremony at the premises.

Speaking after the ceremony he said that all works under the Smart City Mission have been accelerated and that Mangaluru city will be a model city for the country.

Priority is being given to the renovation of the Wenlock hospital. The new building will be open to the public as soon as possible, Kateel added.

The 12,089 square feet, 5-storey building is being built at a cost of Rs 37.52 crore under the Mangaluru Smart City project. It will house an x-ray unit, a scanning unit, a surgery ward, laundry, pharmacy, an ultrasound unit, pre- and post-operation units and other facilities.

Two other stone laying ceremonies: the Rs 65 crore coastal berth at Old Port in Bengre and the Rs 29 crore capital dredging works under the Sagar Mala project were also performed.

MLA Vedvyas Kamath, mayor Diwakar Pandeshwar, Zilla panchayat president Meenakshi Shantigodu, Mangaluru taluk president Mohammed Monu and others were present at the events.