Novena will have the single biggest healthcare complex in the country when all public and volunteer healthcare facilities, and the medical school, are linked up physically by 2030 to form "Health City Novena".

The facilities and services available will also increase, as the built-up area goes up from 250,000 to 600,000 sq m. Beds will also go up by 25 per cent to more than 2,200, with the bulk of the increase in step-down care such as in a community hospital.

The plan calls for replacing low-rise old buildings with space efficient multi-storey blocks - since it will all sit on 17ha of land - down from the 27ha it now occupies.

In all, 10 buildings, including Tan Tock Seng Hospital, will be physically interlinked. The remaining three are heritage buildings which cannot be meddled with.

Speaking at the launch of the project this morning, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong described it as "a key component under the Ministry of Health's capacity building strategy to develop medical excellence and provide more accessible and quality care to Singaporeans."