July 1, 2004-- (ArabMedicare.com News) By 2010, Dubai Healthcare City will become a globally
recognized
location of choice for healthcare and a center of excellence for
specialist medical services, medical education, life science
research and technology based healthcare services that will service
patients from the entire region in such specialty fields as: cardiology,
oncology, and diabetes, as well as providing a basis for other
preventative, health maintenance and rehabilitative services.
ArabMedicare.com: How far has the progress of building the
infrastructure of Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) reached? Do you
expect it to open on the scheduled date?
Saeed Al Muntafiq: The building of the infrastructure has
progressed far more rapidly that we expected and will be finished
ahead of the target date. Its first phase will be completed by the
end of the summer of 2004 and would include some of the buildings
and the roads network. Phase 1 is totally sold out - including both
buildings and plots.
Work on the Teaching Hospital and the Harvard Medical School at
the DHCC will start next February or March and is expected to finish
during the summer of 2006. It will offer Post-Graduate Degrees and
Continuous Medical Education.
Our Phase 2 plot covers 9 million square feet next to Al Wasl
Hospital. Because of the heavy demand, we have had to start earlier
on Phase 2. We have also had to double the size of the buildings in
it as already 30 per cent of the space is booked and 10 per cent of
vacant plots are sold out.
ArabMedicare.com: How much is the total cost of building
DHCC? And what is the size of investments you are expecting to
attract?
Saeed Al Muntafiq: The cost of the infrastructure is
around US$1.8 billion. However, the total value of the investments
in the city including hundreds of international, regional and local
investments is and will be much higher.
The studies we made have revealed that private investments in the
Medical and Health sectors in the region are expected to double in
the next 10 years.
Increasing investments will have to be made to accommodate the
demand generated by a growing population, general improvement in
living standards and the public consciousness for health and medical
services. All these have boosted demand to exceptional levels. Thus,
the medical and health sectors have become an appealing channel for
investments promising high returns.
We expect that the DHCC will win a big share of these new
investments due to the firm belief of investors in the important
regional role that the city will play and the levels of success that
it will accomplish judging by the success of both the Media and the
Internet Cities.
ArabMedicare.com: Do you expect that the biggest share of
investments to flow from the region or from outside?
Saeed Al Muntafiq: There is no doubt that regional
investments will constitute an important part of the total
investment in DHCC. The agreement with Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Medical
Centre, under which the centre will invest Dh100 million to
establish a multi-specialty medical centre in the city, is an
indicator of the size of Gulf investments that are expected to flow
into the DHCC.
We are also expecting the flow of large investments from big
international establishments that are aiming to benefit from the big
potential of the medical sector's growth. Investments are also
expected from the Indian Subcontinent and South East Asia.
ArabMedicare.com: You recently announced that you are
negotiating with more regional and international establishments. How
far have the negotiations progressed?
Saeed Al Muntafiq: There are agreements that will be
announced soon, and others that are to be announced later.
I would like to point out that the Dubai Development &
Investment Authority (DDIA), which is supervising the establishment
of the DHCC, has held many meetings with leading regional and
international organisations in the Medical Care sector. The
negotiations concentrated on developing strategic alliances with top
establishments that will add unique quality to the DHCC. The
Authority has continuously been working to support and develop the
DHCC by attracting and assisting top establishments at both the
international and the regional level.
Besides that, we have received a huge number of applications from
many medical and health organisations from within the region and
outside that wish to have work authorisation in the DHCC. We are
currently studying those requests to guarantee that they suit the
high standards the city has set.
The joint venture agreements we have had with Mayo Clinic and
Harvard Medical School represent an indicator of the top-level
interest that the city has generated and the important role it is
expected to play in the regional field. This is all attributed to
the vision of H.H. General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Crown Prince of Dubai and the UAE Defence Minister.
ArabMedicare.com: How many establishments do you expect
the DHCC to have when it opens?
Saeed Al Muntafiq: It is hard to estimate exact figures.
However, if we consider the number of companies that are applying to
work within the DHCC as an indicator, then the number will be large
for sure.
However, we are dedicating our efforts on the quality and not the
quantity. Insistence of quality establishments will meet our
objective of turning DHCC into an international centre for medical
and health care from Europe to the South East Asia.
ArabMedicare.com: Why is it that DHCC is concentrating on
the academic sector relative to other sectors?
Saeed Al Muntafiq: That is not true. The developing and
marketing plans we are carrying out concentrate the same importance
on the three elements the city constitutes which are: the Academic
Medical Center, the Medical Cluster and the Wellness Cluster.
The impression that we are concentrating on the academic sector
might have come about because of the high-profile agreements with
Harvard Medical School and also with Mayo Clinic, which includes
cooperation in the Medical Research sector.
I would like to point out that our interest in attracting
top-level Medical Schools and Medical Research Centres chimes in
with the aims of the DHCC in becoming an international centre for
medical education and research.
We believe in the importance of education and research in raising
the level of the health and medical services in the region. We also
made sure that the agreement with Harvard Medical International
requires the setting up of a scientific research and medical
environment of an international standard. It also includes
developing a plan for medical and life sciences research within the
DHCC.
We will start directly by providing funding opportunities for
research projects that will concentrate on diseases and important
medical specialties in the region such as heart disorders and
diabetes. This is part of the effort to turn any research project to
an applied study within DHCC.
ArabMedicare.com: The concept of Dubai Healthcare City is
still vague to many. Will you cast more light on what the city will
be like when finished?
Saeed Al Muntafiq: Dubai Healthcare City will be the
biggest centre for medical and health care on an international level
within the area between Europe and the South East. And, as I
mentioned before, it will constitute three sections. It will include
Medical Services and Healthcare Centre with hospitals, clinics,
diagnostics, rehabilitation, check-up, nutritionist and the latest
remote healing centres.
This will complement the Academic Medical Center that will
include a Teaching Hospital, the Harvard Medical School Dubai
Center, a nursing
school, specialist labs and research centres. This will provide
latest medical services in certain fields, with a focus on health
problems that face patients in the region such as heart diseases,
tumors, diabetes, cosmetic surgeries, ophthalmology and orthopaedics.
The medical and nursing schools will help in filling the gap of the
availability of healthcare specialists. Providing education and
research services which will eventually help attract medical
specialists and experts to work in the region and for the region.
The Academic Medical Center will include a life sciences
centre that will concentrate on the common diseases in the region
and complement the role of the Teaching Hospital. It will establish
a base for developing techniques, gathering information and for
medical research. It will provide a base of important medical data
from around the region and will allow doctors and researchers to
publish their research results and coordinate with other scientific
centres.
The third centre will be the Wellness Cluster, which will include
nutrition and safety centres, medical examination centres, spas,
health clubs, medical clubs and a medical farm.
Related Information: Dubai Healthcare City web site - www.dhcc.ae
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