page_title: Rafik Hariri University Hospital
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Rafik Hariri University Hospital / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The inner yard at the RHUH Français&#160;: La cour interieure de la RHUH
context_page_description: The Rafik Hariri University Hospital – formerly known as Beirut Governmental University Hospital – is the largest Lebanese public hospital, located on the outskirts of southern Beirut. The hospital's main building has a maximal capacity of 544 hospital beds; it comprises a total of seven floors with three annex buildings a 50 bed hotel and four villas hosting staff dormitories, outpatient clinics and administrative services. The Hospital is affiliated with the Lebanese University.
context_section_description: On February 2, 1979, the Lebanese government decided to build a governmental hospital with a 500-bed capacity on a publicly owned property in Bir Hassan, Beirut. The decision was based on technical studies made by the minister of Health and the Minister of Public Works and Transportation.
  Due to the advent of the Lebanese civil war, which significantly weakened the public health care sector, the construction project had to be postponed until 1995 when then prime minister Rafik Hariri laid the cornerstone; construction was  finalized during 2000.
  The hospital was inaugurated on August 2, 2004 with a cost of 121 million US dollars.
caption: A panoramic view of the inner yard at the Rafik Hariri University Hospital in 2010
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