Health firm starts work on Abu Dhabi hospital

London-listed NMC Healthcare has started construction work on its new hospital in the Khalifa City district of Abu Dhabi.

The UAE-based private sector healthcare provider said the NMC Specialty Hospital will comprise 250 beds, and will eventually feature 23 specialties.

The first phase is due to be opened by the end of 2014, the company said in a statement.

Services offered at the hospital from day one will include emergency services, intensive care, paediatrics, cardiology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, and urology.

Subsequent phased additions will include neurology, psychiatry, gastroenterology, nephrology and oncology, the statement added.

The new hospital will specifically cater to the growing population of Abu Dhabi's Khalifa City, Al Raha, Mussafah, Mohammed bin Zayed City, Masdar City, Abu Dhabi International Airport, Shahama and Yas Island.

According to the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, some of these suburbs are expected to house around one-fifth of the total population of the emirate by 2030.

The Khalifa City hospital will be NMC's fourth and largest integrated hospital in the UAE. It currently runs hospitals in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al Ain.

NMC also operates day surgery centres, outpatient clinics and pharmacies across the country, and earlier this week it commenced trial operations at the new Sheikh Khalifa General Hospital in Umm Al Qawain.

Dr BR Shetty, NMC Healthcare's CEO, said: "NMC Healthcare is helping to build a high quality and affordable private healthcare sector for the UAE."

Zaid Daoud Al Siksek, CEO of Abu Dhabi Health Authority, added: "This initiative to construct a hospital with 250 beds in Khalifa City-A will be an important addition to the healthcare system of Abu Dhabi and serve the medical needs of the growing population in this region."

The investment outlay for the project is estimated at $200m until the year 2016. The construction contract was recently awarded to Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Construction.

Spending on the healthcare sector in the UAE has tripled in the last five years, and public expenditure on the sector has amounted to 2.5 percent of GDP.

Recent reports show that the UAE healthcare sector is estimated to grow from $3.2bn this year to $11.9bn by 2015.

In August, NMC Healthcare recorded a 21 percent increase in net profit to $27.5m in the first half of 2012.

The group, which listed on the London Stock Exchange in a $182m IPO in April, saw total revenues for the six months to June 30 rise 8.4 percent to $238m.