SAN DIEGO -- A committee of the University of California Board of Regents Tuesday recommended approval of the construction of a tower at UC San Diego's East Campus medical complex to house 125 to 150 inpatient beds.

The full Board of Regents is scheduled to vote on the Building and Ground Committee's recommendation on Thursday, according to UCSD. Final approval for the project is expected in the next 12 to 18 months.

The proposed tower would compliment the 119-bed UCSD Thornton Hospital and 386-bed UCSD Medical Center Hillcrest.

"This new bed tower will allow us to operate all of our 505 licensed beds, which is impossible today due to facility limitations,'' said Dr. David Brenner, UCSD's vice chancellor for health sciences.

After completion of the tower in 2014, UCSD Medical Center will maintain at least 250 beds at both its Hillcrest and La Jolla facilities for the next 20 years, officials said.