The health department is eyeing the completion of the new Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Tayuman, Manila by May 2017, the Health Secretary said Wednesday.

Secretary Paulyn Jean B. Rosell-Ubial said the 7-storey "700-bed, modern hospital” has been awarded in 2015 and is already in its second phase of building.

Officials decided to relocate the "Philippine baby factory" after several engineers revealed that retrofitting Fabella was estimated to cost P300 million, while building a new one would cost only P750 million.

"They actually assessed that the area, about eight buildings in that compound is no longer suitable for occupancy, and that area is not actually made for a hospital—it was the administration building of the Bilibid, which is just beside it, so they are actually separated by a fence."

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The Fabella Hospital is one of the busiest maternity wards in the world, with an average of 60 births a day but as Daily Mail reported, it can record as many as 100 in 24 hours.

Apart from the new Fabella, Ubial said they are also rebuilding the Haiyan-affected hospital in Tacloban and the earthquake-devastated hospital in Bohol.

They are also eyeing building "big hospitals" across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao

"We’re trying to improve the spread and the reach of our hospitals so that, we don’t want people to concentrate and go to Metro Manila," she said.

Ubial said they are exploring tapping into Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) for these hospitals, but as of now, they have allocated funds for health facility enhancement in their budget.

"That’s about P21-billion for this year and about P17-billion for next year," she said.