The province says it is moving forward with plans to build a new hospital in Surrey.

The Ministry of Health and Fraser Health are funding the concept plan, which will lay out the need for a specific project and identify potential locations for the new hospital.

The province says this stage will take a year to complete.

"Surrey Memorial Hospital delivers first-class health care, but we recognize with a rapidly growing community that access to this care is becoming difficult for a great number of people," Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a release.

"We made a commitment to British Columbians to address this need and today we are taking the first planning step in making sure people living in this region have better access to quality care."

Dix says the next year will be spent developing a concept plan, looking at locations, etc. Says the hospital will probably take 6-10 years to be built. <a href="https://t.co/1915NW6c5B">pic.twitter.com/1915NW6c5B</a> —@Jesse_Johnston

"With the continued growth of the community in the coming years, an additional hospital in Surrey will provide an opportunity to expand our care services to reflect the needs of the people living and working here," said Fraser Health Board chair Jim Sinclair.

"We know the need for health care continues to increase and this expansion will ensure people can access these services when they need them."

The province said the project could take six to 10 years to complete.