Bait Al-Batterjee Medical Company has announced the launch of the group's newest project, the Batterjee Healthcare City project in Makkah. The project will be established on 58,000 sq. meters of land at a strategic location in the holy city with a total investment of SR1.5 billion, said Sobhi Batterjee, chairman of the group. He said phase one of the projects consists of a medical college with a capacity for 2000 students, offering degree programs in medicine and other disciplines such as clinical pharmacy, physical therapy, respiratory therapy, health management and administration, and nursing. There will also be staff accommodation to serve the needs of the various institutions within the healthcare city. The Medical City will have a world class hospital with 400 beds. The project will be offered to the Middle East Healthcare Company (Saudi German Hospital) to build, own and operate as a tertiary care hospital under the SGH brand. The project also includes a teaching hospital of 80 to 100 Beds to support the medical college. Batterjee appreciated the clear vision, strategic road map and support by the rulers, leaders and officials at the national and governorate levels. Batterjee thanked Osama Bin Fadl Al-Bar, mayor of Makkah, and all the staff working in the mayoralty for their support and encouragement that made the project a reality to help improve the healthcare and medical education services in the region. Batterjee highlighted the active role of the private sector in providing quality medical care to the Saudi population. A largely fragmented healthcare industry creates inefficiency in the system which can be addressed by increased corporate participation and consolidation. The Batterjee family considers healthcare and health education as their life mission and passion and focuses all their energy and resources on it, he said. — SG
