Construction of the Fort St John Hospital and Residential Care project in Canada has begun.

The C$297.9m project includes a 55-bed acute care hospital and a 123-bed residential care facility, Opinion250.com reports.

The hospital will house two new operating rooms, an endoscopy suite and a single-room maternity care centre, the news agency reports.

The new 5,000m² residential care development will replace the old North Peace Care Centre in Fort St John.

The emergency department will be two-and-a-half times larger than the existing facility, built in 1962 to serve short-stay patients.