The National Council for Planning and Building on Tuesday afternoon approvced the expansion of Be'er Sheva's municipal borders to allow for the construction of a second hospital in the city, Israel Hayom reported.
The hospital, which will be only the second hospital located between Ashkelon's Barzilai and Eilat's Yoseftal, will be named after Israel's ninth president, Shimon Peres.
The new hospital will have nearly 1,900 beds, approximately 400 more than Ramat Gan's Sheba Medical Center, which is Israel's largest hospital today. One thousand of the new hospital's beds - just over half - will be for general medicine, while the rest will be for mental and geriatric patients.
According to Calcalist, the 1,000-dunam (247 acre) hospital campus will be located between Be'er Sheva and Tel Sheva, just east of Sarah Junction, at the intersection of Routes 25 and 40. The campus will include 400 square meters (4305.6 square feet) of buildings, including a 10-story tower and several shorter 5-8 story buildings.
In addition to the hospital itself, the new medical campus will include an international biotech facility and employment center.
Plans also call for a light rail train to allow easy access from within Be'er Sheva, as well as bus lines and shared taxis for the expected that up to 20,000 people who will visit the campus daily.
The plans are expected to be fully implemented within 15-20 years, but a tender for the first 500 beds is expected to be issued within the year.