(MENAFN - The Peninsula) The Syrian-Qatari Holding (SQH) yesterday signed the definitive shareholder agreement for the co-development of Syrias first world-class Medical City with a group of highly skilled US-based Syrian physicians acting within the framework of the Syrian-American Medical Center (SAMC).
The agreement was signed by SQH chairman Nasser Hassan Al Ansari while the other side was represented by Dr Ammar Hemaidan (General Manager of SAMC) and Dr Akram Kholoki (Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of SAMC).
Founded in 2008, SQH is Syrias largest holding company with a declared capital of 5bn. It was established through an agreement between the Syrian and Qatari governments.
The Medical City with an estimated project cost of 112m will integrate a 200-bed hospital, several speciality medical centres and medical offices.
This agreement follows up on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by SQH and SAMC in May 2009, which had defined the framework to carry out the necessary feasibility studies of the project and to draw the final outlines of the future medical centre. The Medical City will be located in Damascus, in the West Mazzeh area. The site is within close proximity 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 plans of the medical complex call for a total built-up area of 64,000 sq m of which 26,000 sq m will be allocated to the 200-bed general hospital facility.
The remaining of the built-up area will host a parking lot and a large office component to house different speciality clinics and other medical related trades and businesses. The Hospital component itself will include several centres of excellence including heart, pulmonary disease, and gastroenterology centres, a gynaecology/obstetrics/paediatrics unit, oncology, musculoskeletal/orthopaedics and neuropsychiatric centres, as well as general surgery, medicine and ER services supported by a state-of-the-art radiology centre.
The medical centre will benefit from state-of-the-art equipment and will be implementing the latest technological advancements in patient care. Internationally experienced biomedical engineers, designers and practitioners will be involved in the facilities design and the selection of the medical equipment.
The Heart Center, for instance, will provide the highest level of skills and expertise to treat a wide variety of cardiovascular diseases, utilising the most advanced technologies available, says Dr Kholoki, interventional cardiologist.
The complex will be staffed by well trained medical practitioners, support staff and nurses and will provide outstanding standard of medical treatment and care. That will bring significant benefit to the Syrian population, and will encourage patients from across the Middle East to come to Syria for treatment, said Hassan Mukayed, CEO of SQH.
