St. Luke’s breaking ground for P18 billion Parañaque hospital

MANILA, Philippines — St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) has upgraded its plans for the multi-billion-peso hospital that will rise in Parañaque, resulting in a one-year delay in its expected opening.

In a press briefing, SLMC president and CEO Dennis Serrano said that they are targeting to break ground for the P18-billion St. Luke’s Aseana by the latter half of the year or the first quarter of 2026.

Serrano said that SLMC is eyeing to open the doors of the new 500-bed hospital by 2030.

“Financially, we’re ready. By design, schematics, we’re ready. We’re just timing everything,” he said.

The construction of St. Luke’s Aseana was previously expected to start as early as October 2024 and was eyed to be fully operational by 2029.

“We had to go back to the schematic design of the hospital. The schematic design put us back on the drawing board. Second, we were initially looking at a hospital that will specialize only for certain specialties, but we realized that the need is really greater,” Serrano said.

Serrano said the cost of constructing the hospital structure itself is going to be around P12 billion.

Including the equipment, he said the investment amount is estimated at P18 billion.

“When we open St. Lukes Aseana in 2030, this is a hospital that is version 2030. We are hoping to open the best digitally connected hospital in the country by 2030 and that is the aspiration,” Serrano said.

“We are designing it to be a smart-ready hospital. It has to be equipped with all the technology that will give convenience for patients,” he said.

St. Luke’s Aseana will be the third gem in SLMC’s portfolio, joining its two flagship facilities in Quezon City and Global City in Taguig.

Last year, SLMC commenced with an ambitious redevelopment plan for its hospital in Quezon City in an effort to modernize and expand its facilities.

As part of the redevelopment initiative for the St. Luke’s Quezon City facility, which was established in the 1960s, a new 13-storey hospital building is currently being built.

It will house nearly 80 percent of the hospital’s existing services with 140 nursing unit beds.

With a cost of P6 billion, the new hospital building is targeted for completion by 2027.