Dignitaries sign the memorandum of understanding in Dubai.

Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

The Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) free zone is set to be the host of another highly-specialised medical facility two-and-a-half years from the first four months of 2022.

Target of the opening of the Dhs495-million 100-bed eight-storey Prime Heart & Lung Hospital, within DHCC Zone 2 on Oud Metha Road, almost adjacent to the Latifa Hospital, is after “30 months from the start of the construction in the first quarter of 2022.” DHCC Authority chief executive officer Jamal Abdulsalam and Prime Healthcare Group managing director Dr. Jamil Ahmed signed the “full-fledged agreement” on Tuesday from the DHCC Stand of the ongoing “Arab Health Week 2022” at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Abdulsalam said: “DHCC provides an enabling and supportive environment for successful investments in Dubai by leveraging the emirate’s strategic location at the crossroads of the world, making our free zone the perfect destination for healthcare providers and patients looking for healthcare excellence.”

He also said: “Our agreement with Prime Healthcare Group is yet another milestone, building on the advanced infrastructure we provide to our business partners. The opening of the Prime Heart & Lung Hospital undoubtedly represents a significant addition to Dubai’s renowned healthcare sector, with yet more advanced and specialised services.”

Ahmed told Gulf Today the new hospital that will feature the Heart Care Centre, the Lung Care Centre, and the Marie Curie Cancer Institute “will further enhance Dubai’s reputation as a destination for medical excellence, expand boundaries of next-generation healthcare and bring a world-class medical facility to the UAE and the region. (The new hospital) is one more iteration of our commitment to chart new paths in transformative healthcare and technology in Medicine to enable happier tomorrows for humanity.”

The new tertiary care hospital will serve as a “compliment” to the existing 100-bed Prime Hospital located on Airport Road also in Dubai: “We expect referrals of patients from across Dubai and from the Northern Emirates. There is no better place than (DHCC) because of its unhindered access from all these areas.”

Ahmed was asked on the demographics of the diseases of the heart and lungs across the UAE in the last three years, in connection to the project: “The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is considered the top among the four major non-communicable diseases (NCDs) globally. Others include cancer, chronic respiratory diseases (CRD) and diabetes. (CVDs) are the leading cause of deaths globally and in the UAE. The total deaths in the UAE in the last three years was approximately between 15,000 and 17,000 yearly.”