South Korea's overseas aid agency said Thursday that it will construct the first intensive care hospital in Iraq by 2023, as part of efforts to help the Middle East country strengthen its medical services.

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) said that under a support project worth $39.5 million, it plans to build the four-story Iraq-Korea Critical Care Specialty Hospital on a 7,000-square-meter site in Baghdad.

On Wednesday, the agency held a groundbreaking ceremony for the hospital, which will be equipped with eight operating rooms, 100 sickbeds and three examination rooms -- all of which are designed to provide critical care services in Iraq for the first time.

"Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, building the critical care specialty hospital carries an important meaning," Jang Kyung-wook, South Korea's ambassador to Iraq, said.

"This shows exactly how we will be able to preemptively prepare for an increase in treatment demand for critically ill patients in the post-COVID era," he added.

The aid project was first launched in 2016 to help Iraq reduce the fatality rate of critically ill patients in the country, which has long been suffering from terrorist attacks and drawn-out armed conflicts. (Yonhap)