Dubai-based MAG Group will develop approximately one million square feet mixed-use project in Dubai Healthcare City at an estimated cost of around AED 800 million.
The development which is still at the concept design stage is expected to include two hospitals covering a total of 260,000 square feet, plus an 80,000 square feet clinic; a residential complex of four buildings with combined gross floor area of 430,000 square feet; a hotel apartment with a gross floor area of 80,000 square feet and 100,000 square feet of retail space.
The development will also include a mosque and one of the most advanced automated car parks and extensive hard and soft landscaping. It is envisaged that the whole project will be completed by the end of 2016.
Addressing officials from DHCC, Moafaq Al Gaddah, Chairman of MAG Group said, “The healthcare sector in Dubai is on the cusp of a sustained period of growth and will need to build medical facilities for the future. This expansion is being fuelled by numerous factors.
“First the natural growth in the local population and in the number of expatriate arrivals as the economy expands, looking ahead to Expo 2020. Two, the growth of private health insurance due to changes in government employment policy and Dubai’s growing status as a medical tourism hub for the Middle East,” he added.
The feasibility of the project needs little explanation. According to the DHA, total inpatient visits to healthcare centres grew by a CAGR of 9%, between 2006 and 2011 totalling 183,000 visits in 2011. By that time almost 57% of all inpatient facilities were in private hands, as inpatient visits to private healthcare centres grew by a CAGR of 18% over the same period and a clear sign of changing preferences in Dubai.
It is a similar picture for outpatient care. Outpatient visits to private
healthcare centres grew by a CAGR of 8% between 2006 and 2011. The private
sector now dominates outpatient care, with 73% of all outpatient visits in
2011.
