Syria to build medical city
Syrian Qatari Holding (SQH) has agreed to co-develop Syria’s first world-class medical city with a group of US-based Syrian physicians acting within the framework of the Syrian American Medical Center (SAMMC), The medical city will have a 200-bed hospital and several specialty medical centres. This agreement follows successful feasibility studies of the project and agreement on the final outlines of the future medical center. Work on site has already begun.
The medical city will be located in Damascus, in the West Mazzeh area of Syria. The site is near to the Mazzeh highway, and within easy reach of Damascus centre and rural Damascus. It will be built on a land area of 10,000 sq.m. The medical complex will include the 200-bed general hospital facility with individual medical clinics, plus other medical related trades and businesses, as well as accommodation for medical staff and visitors.
The Syrian American Specialty Hospital will include several centres of excellence on heart, pulmonary disease, gastroenterology, gynaecology / obstetrics / pediatrics unit, oncology, musculoskeletal / orthopedics, and neuropsychiatrics. There will also be general surgery and medicine supported by a radiology centre. It will have state-of-the-art equipment and will implement the latest technological advancements in patient care. It will be staffed by well-trained medical practitioners, support staff and nurses and will provide an international standard of medical treatment and care.
The hospital will benefit the Syrian population, and will encourage patients from across the Middle East to come to Syria for treatment. Hassan Mukayed of SQH explains, “Syrian doctors practicing in the USA and Europe are known to be among the best physicians in the world. It will both retain the patients who today travel out of the country for special surgical operations and procedures and encourage Syrian experts who live abroad to come back to Syria and work in a medical city that aims to become the first choice for treatment in Syria and the surrounding region.” The hospital will be the first Syrian hospital seeking JCI accreditation.
SQH will develop and manage the project through its fully owned subsidiary, Syrian-Qatari Healthcare. The total project cost is estimated to be around US$ 112 million, and the development of the entire complex will take between three and five years. Founded in 2008, and based in Damascus, SQH is equally owned by the governments of Syria and Qatar.