Dubai: Dubai Health Care City (DHCC) Phase II, which was announced in 2015, has more than 40 per cent of its projects on track to be completed by 2021.
By 2018, it aims to have roads and infrasructre completed at a cost of Dh500 million according to Bader Hareb, CEO of Dubai Health Care Authority (DHCA), Investment Sector. Hareb spoke to Gulf News on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) on Tuesday and provided an overview of the two-million-square-metre project on the banks of the new Canal project at Al Jaddaf.
The expansion aims to resonate with Dubai’s health strategy on medical tourism, he said.
“We aim to drive the global trend in preventative health care with this expansion, the project is expected to add 10,000 health care professionals to the workforcee, house approximately 10,000 residents and more than 2,000 students,” Hareb told Gulf News.
“The emphasis in Phase II is on wellness and DHCC is keen to inroduce new concepts inviting investors with new projects with open arms. We have allocated 25 per cent of the space for health care and wellness, 25 per cent for hospitality, 15 per cent for residential and five per cen to educational projects.”
To facilitate 25 per cent investment from the hospitality sector, and in order to develop leisure and entertainment conveniences to support medical tourism, the Dubai Health Health Care Authority — Regulation (DHCR) has announced changes in regulation to introduce a service provider category.
This will allow entrepreneurs and investors to set up their first outlets offering medical tourism services such as travel agencies, tour services, salons and cafes.
Hareb added that all these facilities to investors in the free zone would help build on the theme of medical tourism.
“One cannot but acknowledge the emirate’s pull as a tourist destination; with its strategic location, one-third of the global population is within four hours flying-time and two-thirds are within eight hours. Adding to the geographical proximity is world-class infrastructure and the required elements of innovation, safety, a regulatory environment, and a host of cultural sights that can whet the appetite of medical tourists and their families. Specific to DHCC, our competitive advantage has always been quality assurance within a strong regulatory framework — our outpatient quality standards in Dubai Healthcare City are accredited by the International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua).”
As of now, DHCC Phase I has about 95 per cent occupancy in its main building and more than 65 per cent occupany in the the entire Phase I.
New projets that are undergoing at Phase I such as the Medicilinic City Hospital and Riyadh Al Jurd Hospital are likely to account for more occupancy.
The Phase II thus represents a logical extension to Phase I projects as spaces are rapidly filling up and the authorities have created new spaces in anticipation for growing demands.
