New hospitals and health tourism project in Saudi Arabia

Brazilian construction company Braengel has been chosen to design a $500m complex including a hospital and a five star hotel in Riyadh. The project will cover an area of 76,000 sq m in the Saudi capital city, and will also include a luxury spa, gym, shopping centre and several restaurants. The focus of the project is to offer aesthetic medicine services to women in the Middle East. The hospital will also target obesity and diabetes, two rapidly increasing problems in the area.

Brazilian construction company Braengel has been chosen to design a $500m complex including a hospital and a five star hotel in Riyadh. The project will cover an area of 76,000 sq m in the Saudi capital city, and will also include a luxury spa, gym, shopping centre and several restaurants. The focus of the project is to offer aesthetic medicine services to women in the Middle East. The hospital will also target obesity and diabetes, two rapidly increasing problems in the area.

The contract is part of a partnership established by Prince Abdulaziz Bin Mishaal Al Saud, who runs Al Shoula Holding Group, a Saudi-based conglomerate, and Marinho Uhlmann of Alicerce Business Solution Holding, the parent company of Braengel. The hospital aims to attract custom from all of the Middle East, particularly attracting women from other countries in the region to Saudi Arabia. Construction of the complex will begin in October, with the project completed in two years. The investment of $500 million is 60% from Saudi and Qatari businessmen, and 40 % from various Brazilian companies. A Brazilian company will manage the site, which is yet to be chosen by the Saudis. Three luxury spa operators in Brazil are being considered to run the enterprise.

A new joint venture has been launched to develop a chain of specialised hospitals in Saudi Arabia. RED House Group, a Beirut-based real estate investment company, has forged a partnership with healthcare operator Rizk Healthcare to form RRHH (Rizk RED House Healthcare). Under the deal, RED House has handed RRHH a $1.35bn project for 10 hospitals totalling over 3000 beds in Saudi Arabia in a venture with Ebram, a Saudi investment and healthcare firm. RRRH also plans a 500-bed hospital in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The Ministry of Health plans to build a 500-bed hospital in memory of the late Prince Sultan – the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Hospital is to be built in the Riyadh. This is part of the Health Ministry plans to construct 12 new hospitals to provide comprehensive integrated health services for citizens in all parts of the Kingdom. In addition to the 12 new hospitals, which will have a total capacity of 3100 beds, the ministry will build 15 integrated clinics in Riyadh, a centre for tumours in Madinah, a centre for cancer treatment, and specialized centres for dental care. Health minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, says the private sector is a strategic partner in providing healthcare services to both citizens and expatriates. 10 of the ministry’s hospitals are in the process of gaining accreditation by Joint Commission International.