Kai Tak Hospital opens this week: what you need to know before visiting - South China Morning Post

Elizabeth CheungPublished: 11:00am, 5 Oct 2026Updated: 3:56pm, 5 Oct 2026Hong Kong’s largest public hospital, built on the former airport site in Kai Tak, began its first phase of operations on Monday after more than a decade of planning and preparation.

The South China Morning Post looks at the hospital’s key features and what its opening means for the city’s healthcare development.

With a gross floor area of roughly 500,000 square metres (5.38 million square feet) and 2,400 beds, Kai Tak Hospital will be Hong Kong’s largest public hospital. It will gradually take over services from Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Jordan.

The hospital, which cost more than HK$36 billion, comprises five buildings on the site of the former airport’s south apron. Major facilities include 37 operating theatres and a 24-hour accident and emergency department.

It will also house Hong Kong’s largest pharmacy, the first in a public hospital to use an automated dispensing system capable of handling up to 3,200 prescriptions a day.