Fund to support investment in Oman Medical City

Conrad Prabhu
Muscat - Building on the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model upon which the Sultanate’s ambitious Sultan Qaboos Medical City project is based, the Omani government plans to set up an investment fund to support the establishment of a world-class tertiary healthcare and medical education hub at Barka in South Al Batinah Governorate.

The proposed Medical City Investment Fund, according to a top official associated with this landmark project, will focus on funnelling investment in a range of facilities and services indispensable to the long-term success of the development.

“There are lot of investment ideas, one being the Medical City Investment Fund, to support hospital management, health information technology, health development and investment, as well as ancillary services such as hospital cleaning, catering, laundry services, and so on,” said Dr Ali Talib al Hinai, Planning Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Health.

Covering an area of five million square metres, the Medical City is proposed to consist of an array of speciality hospitals offering a total of 1,250 beds. In addition to a dedicated paediatric hospital and general tertiary care hospital, the complex will also include a trauma centre, rehabilitation centre, neurology centre, diagnostic radiology centre, medical laboratories centre, medical college, and research hub.

The private sector will be invited to invest in healthcare related facilities such as hospitals and clinics, as well as commercial and retail developments, including residential blocks, hotels, and shopping malls, besides facilities for recreation and leisure.

Speaking at a recent forum held in the city, Dr Al Hinai described the Medical City project as the “first PPP project” in the Sultanate. “We have this Public-Private-Partnership arrangement with Oman Investment Fund (OIF), which has formed a special purpose vehicle to finance and build the Medical City project,” he said.

Besides offering specialist tertiary care services, the Medical City will also serve as a teaching hub for graduate and postgraduate medical education and training, as well as healthcare research. It will also give rise to opportunities for partnership with the private sector, notably in the development of healthcare facilities and commercial and residential ventures within the City.

“The Medical City will serve Sultan Qaboos University and the (proposed) University of Oman as a hub for graduate and postgraduate education. It will be located six kilometres off the Batinah Expressway, but adjacent to a residential area in which a lot of plots have been distributed,” he said.

Part of the rationale for choosing Barka to host the iconic project is its geographical location roughly at the centre of a region (encompassing North and South Al Batinah, and Muscat governorates) that is presently home to 2.4 million of Oman’s total population size of 4 million Omanis and expatriates, he said.

Significantly, the government is also looking at the introduction of health insurance to support certain “target groups” to be treated at the Medical City, Dr Al Hinai said.

“We are going to (explore) the possibility of implementing health insurance in the Medical City, as well some kind of health endowment much like any other healthcare institution in the world, in terms of supporting healthcare services or health education,” he stated.

© Oman Daily Observer 2016