Work on a long-awaited extension to Naas General Hospital in Co Kildare looks set to begin in 2021.
The extension will house a new endoscopy/day services unit.
Physical medicine, oncology and day procedure departments will also be constructed.
The Health Service Executive is working with a design team for the project to prepare tender documents.
There has been much concern locally about when or whether the expansion would go ahead because planning permission was originally granted, but not utilised, by Kildare County Council in 2014.
According to the HSE, the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group (DMHG), of which Naas General Hospital is a member, supports the capital development plan submitted for the extension.
The DMHG has seven hospitals or clinics under its remit and serves a population of 800,000.
The construction project will take over a year to complete.
Naas General Hospital serves Co Kildare and west Wicklow.
The population of Co Kildare rose from 210,000 to 222,500 between 2011 and 2016.
