Central Otago Mayor Tim Cadogan said the Queenstown-Lakes and Central Otago areas were growing fast and the area would "need a new hospital alongside the new Dunedin Hospital".
The population of both areas was growing all the time, he said.
"Into the future it is hard to say when, but 10-15 years is the sort of numbers being thrown up.
"Whether that is 10-15 years when it is being built ... [or] when it is getting designed, we can’t say.
"But ... it would be done in my lifetime."
Mr Cadogan is 57.
He had had a few preliminary discussions with health authorities about the proposal, he said.
People were fully aware of the growth in the Queenstown-Lakes area but there was also good growth occurring in Central Otago.
"People do not recognise the growth that is happening in Central Otago.
"I have been mayor for six years and in that time there has been as many people [coming] into the area [as] the population of Alexandra."
Alexandra has a population of about 6000.
Queenstown-Lakes has a population of about 50,000 permanent residents and Central Otago has about 25,500 — excluding holiday-makers and holiday home owners.
He did not join fellow southern mayors in a group campaigning for the new Dunedin Hospital to be built to its original plans, as he wanted to do more research on the subject and how it would affect any plans for an inland hospital. Mr Cadogan said.
"But I’m not concerned about this now. We are in competition with the rest of New Zealand for health funding — not within the old Southern District Health Board."
His stance was not related to funding of any future inland Otago hospital.
Dunstan Hospital is situated in Clyde and Lakes District Hospital in Queenstown, but neither hospital has the facilities of a major hospital.
Mr Cadogan said through his research, he came up with the statistic that 75% of all people in New Zealand who lived more than two hours from a base hospital, lived in inland Otago.
That came as a surprise to him and showed the extent of the issue.
The use of air ambulance helicopters had increased greatly in the past few years and it was a wonderful service, he said.
"But if we had our own hospital we could cut back on our own travel.
"We have people travelling for up to five hours, there and back, to Dunedin for what is a 10-minute appointment."
He said video links needed to be used more so people did not have to travel.
As for where any future hospital would be built, Cromwell could be viewed favourably with its closeness to Queenstown, Wanaka and other towns.
However, the Crown owned land in Clyde for Dunstan Hospital so that would be an advantage, he said.
He urged people in Central Otago and Queenstown-Lakes to fill out the census on March 7 as it would add to information for any hospital plans.
