Largest camel hospital in Saudi Arabia

Cairo: Saudi Arabia will Sunday launch the world's largest hospital for treating camels and conducting related research in the region of Qassim in the centre of the kingdom.

Governor of Qassim Prince Faisal Bin Meshal Bin Saud will open the facility affiliated with the Salam Veterinary Group, Saudi news portal Ajel reported.

Prince Faisal will tour the hospital, set up on an area of 70,000 metres, and inspect its treatment and research facilities, the group's executive Rashed Bin Assaf said.

The state-of-the-art hospital, built at a cost of 100 million Saudi riyals, can accommodate at least 4,000 camels simultaneously, he added. It is manned by experts to serve camel breeders across the kingdom.

Camels are a popular animal closely linked to heritage in the Arabian Peninsula country.

The animal has long been dubbed as the “ship of the desert”, being the lifeline for desert dwellers.There are more than 1 million camels in Saudi Arabia where they are the centrepieces of different events, including races.

In 2017, the kingdom set up the Camel Club, an association of camel owners.