BY KUDZAI KUWAZA PREPARATIONS for the building of a state-of-the-art hospital in the tourist resort of Victoria Falls by International Health Delivery (IHD) have begun with consultations over location of the medical institution currently underway. The construction of the health centre is expected to begin in a year’s time. IHD executive director Chitwan Malhotra yesterday said the hospital was being built not only to be a medical referral centre for Zimbabweans, but also for those in the Sadc region. “We need to boost the health infrastructure in the Victoria Falls and we will be setting up a state-of-the-art hospital in Victoria Falls which will be equipped with the most recent technologies,” Malhorta said. “It will not only for the people of Zimbabwe, but also for people from neighbouring countries who will be coming for treatment, diagnostics and medication.” She said the aim was to make the hospital part of medical tourism in the region. “The hospital is a big project and it has a lot of stakeholders involved. This includes the local authority, Health and Local Government ministries. For this project to be on the ground, it will require a year of work with the ministry and other stakeholders.” She said the location of the land where the hospital will be set up is yet to be identified. The location, she added, should be strategically placed within the resort town. Follow Kudzai on Twitter @kuwazakudzai