A new regional hospital under construction in San José del Cabo will be the largest infrastructure project in Baja California Sur’s history, with 260 beds, 46 medical specialties, and capacity to serve more than 500,000 insured residents statewide.
The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) Regional Hospital is being built by military engineers from SEDENA (Mexico’s Secretariat of National Defense). President Claudia Sheinbaum placed the first stone and gave the official start order for construction during a visit to Los Cabos in 2025. Governor Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío called it the most significant infrastructure development currently planned in the state.
“The biggest project we will have in Baja California Sur is the Mexican Social Security Institute hospital, which will allow people to avoid traveling to other states,” Castro said. “It was very important to decide to build the hospital here, since Los Cabos is where we have the highest number of insured residents.”
A Major Expansion for a State With Just 350 Hospital Beds
The facility will span 41,000 square meters and include 53 consultation rooms and nine operating rooms. Equipment will include an MRI scanner, CT scanner, linear accelerator, and a catheterization lab. The hospital is one of the first in Mexico to operate under the “IMSS Universal” model, meaning it will also treat patients who are not IMSS beneficiaries.
For context, the entire state of Baja California Sur currently has only about 350 hospital beds. The new facility’s 260 beds will nearly double that capacity. Specialties will include cardiology, neurosurgery, nephrology, oncology, endocrinology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, urology, and organ transplants.
Reducing 3,700 Annual Patient Transfers
The hospital is expected to sharply reduce the more than 3,700 annual patient transfers from BCS to hospitals in Hermosillo, Guadalajara, and Mexico City. Currently, residents needing specialized care in fields like cardiology or neurosurgery must travel to the mainland, often at significant personal expense and delay.
Once operational, the hospital will create 2,648 direct jobs. Los Cabos Mayor Christian Agúndez Gómez visited the construction site on May 19 to review progress. He directed municipal offices to expedite permits and other paperwork for the project. Based on the construction timeline, the first patients could be admitted in early 2027.
The hospital is part of the IMSS Infrastructure Plan 2025-2030. Castro also announced other major BCS projects alongside the hospital, including the El Novillo Dam and a desalination plant in La Paz. The story was first reported by the Gringo Gazette.