Madurai: The Centre informed the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court that 50 per cent of the construction work for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Thoppur here has been completed and the first phase will be ready by January 2026.

The submission was made during the hearing of a public interest litigation filed by Ramesh of Madurai seeking to expedite the project.

The petitioner had earlier moved the court in 2018 after the Union government approved the AIIMS project on June 20 that year. At the time, the Centre had stated that construction would commence after Cabinet approval and be completed in 45 months.

When work failed to progress as expected, Ramesh again approached the court in 2021, prompting the bench to direct that the project be completed within 36 months. He later filed a contempt petition alleging non-compliance.

In 2023, the Centre informed the court that AIIMS, Madurai, would be built at an estimated cost of ₹1,977.8 crore, funded partly through a loan agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency signed on March 26, 2021. The completion period was revised to five years and eight months.

Appearing for the Centre, Deputy Solicitor General Govindarajan said the first phase would be handed over to the AIIMS administration in January 2026.

Recording the submission, the bench of Justices S M Subramaniam and A D Maria Clete closed the case, stating no further orders were required.