The developer of the proposed $46 million West Maui Hospital and Medical Center has received approval for what would be the first new hospital built in the Islands in 20 years.

The state Health Development Planning Agency issued the 16-page decision Friday. The proposal calls for a 25-bed critical-care hospital and 40-bed skilled-nursing facility to be built on about 15 acres near the Lahaina Civic Center in West Maui.

The effort has been supported by the West Maui Improvement Foundation, which has argued such a facility is critical to the emergency-care needs of the West Maui area because of lengthy transport times to the closest trauma center, at Maui Memorial Medical Center in Wailuku.

In the decision, Administrator Ronald Terry said the agency determined there is a public need for the project. And, he wrote, "The cost of the proposal will not be unreasonable in light of the benefits it will provide and its impact on healthcare costs."

The project also requires a zoning change before it can proceed. Developer Newport Hospital Corp. is scheduled to go before the Maui County Council this week with the zoning request.

The project has attracted support from residents, who say they'd like a West Maui hospital because emergency-care patients can face an hour of travel to reach Maui Memorial Medical Center.

If the project gets all needed approvals, the developer projected construction could begin in November, with an opening 18 months later.