AED 11 billion earmarked for investment in Phase I and II of Dubai Healthcare City

DHCC is working on providing the highest standards of quality in healthcare services in the Arab world as per the vision of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister who is committed to raising the overall healthcare standards in the region by 2010.

Al Muntafiq said, "Approximately 90% of the planning for Phase II is complete and investment opportunities in this phase will be put on offer shortly." According to the DHCC Chairman, Phase II is four times bigger than Phase I -- both in terms of size and investments. Phase I has been completely sold out.

"The first medical facility will be ready to fully start operating soon and the first patient can be accepted by the end of the first quarter," said Al Muntafiq.

Best of World Facilities
Al Muntafiq said that the Healthcare City's main objective is to serve the community and improve the standard of living in the Arab world through providing state-of-the-art healthcare facilities and expertise delivered through highly qualified and experienced specialists as per the vision of H.H General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Al Muntafiq said that 30% of doctors and Arab researchers already registered at DHCC are from overseas, especially from USA and Canada.

He added that the, "DHCC has signed several agreements and contracts and Phase I, when it opens, will have a total capacity of 1000 beds. This includes hospitals specialised in paediatrics, gynaecology, oncology, cardiology, diabetes, cosmetic surgeries, ophthalmology and orthopaedics based on the new criteria that Harvard Medical School has introduced which is more suitable for the Arab world."

He said that the building for Mayo Clinic, the largest and most famous cancer and heart surgery hospital in the world, will be ready soon.

Al Muntafiq added that Phase II, which is attracting a large number of establishments, will includes centres for rehabilitation, nursing, obesity and nutrition, alternative medicine and pharmaceutical companies. Several contracts have been signed with leading companies in these fields which will be announced soon. This will help position the city as the gateway to the world, encompassing a wide spectrum of specialities of healthcare services covering the entire value chain, from acute care all the way to preventative medicine, covering the entire human life cycle.

Talking about the marketing operations of DHCC Al Muntafiq said, "We'll start aggressive marketing of the city when the DHCC will be ready to receive patients. Actually, the soft marketing had begun a year ago when we established good relations with the Ministries of Health in the Arab region.

2% of Regional spend
He pointed out that 80% of the investments in the City are from the Gulf investors besides the strong relations in this field with Jordan and Lebanon. He added, "DHCC is working at attracting 2% of the total spend on medicine and nursing in the region that spreads from Morocco to the borders of Indian subcontinent, which is estimated as US $72 billion. That means that the City is working to attract around AED 7 billion annually, which will help nurture the Dubai economy."

As for joining Dubai Holding Al Muntafiq said, "Besides the fact that all the organisations under Dubai Holding compliment each other -- which will a great advantage and which will give the city the opportunity to attract the international medical organizations -- Dubai Holding with its objectives and great vision will help promote DHCC internationally."