Patna: Patna City residents have reasons to rejoice.

The central government is going to offer 100 additional beds at Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS) on Friday.

Union minister of health and family welfare, J.P. Nadda, and chief minister Nitish Kumar are expected to inaugurate the new hospital building on Friday.

The hospital has only 50 beds now.

The additional beds will provide relief to patients as well as hospital employees who have to cope with a large number of patients every day.

Institute director Pradeep Das said the institute is a first of its kind in not only Bihar, but also neighbouring states like Jhakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.

The hospital will provide treatment facilities to patients suffering from diseases like kala-azar, malaria, filaria, chikungunia, dengue, Japanese Encephalitis, Tuberculosis, AIDS, HIV, paediatric and other viral diseases.

"Residents of Bihar and of three other states will benefit," hospital director Das said. "Only Bengal has such facilities, because of which residents have to go to Delhi, Mumbai or other cities for treatment. But now they can avail the facility in Patna."

The new building, built at an estimated cost of Rs 67 crore, is part of the hospital's expansion plan.

A sum of Rs 99.98 crore will be spent on the expansion. Hospital director Das said seven more doctors are likely to join, taking the total number of doctors serving here to 15.

Besides the 100 additional beds, six intensive care units (ICUs) will be made operational from Friday.