KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 7): Manipal Hospitals, part of Manipal Group, an established healthcare provider in India, has invested RM140 million to construct a 220-bed tertiary-care (super specialty) hospital in Bandar Bukit Tinggi, Klang.

In a statement today, Manipal Group said the hospital is expected to be completed soon and opened to the public in the first half of this year.

This is Manipal Group’s first of major investment in healthcare in Malaysia.

Manipal Hospitals Asean region managing director and CEO Ramkumar Akella said the robust healthcare industry and accompanying growth potential in Malaysia were the factors that attracted Manipal Hospitals to invest in Malaysia.

“Malaysia is a logical choice for the Manipal group to expand its services in the healthcare industry, on the back of an already existing medical college in Malacca and an international university in Nilai,” he said.

“Factors such as the increasing large population (which is ageing), more affluent and health conscious society, as well as the Malaysian government’s drive to grow private healthcare are encouraging signs to set up a chain of private hospitals,” he added.

Ramkumar said Malaysia is also a growing destination for medical tourists and these combined factors compelled Manipal to choose Malaysia not only as its choice destination for its first offshore expansion but also a hub to springboard and make inroads into the South East Asian region.

Manipal Hospitals Klang will provide healthcare services with specialities like cardiothoracic surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, nephrology, vascular and plastic surgery and paediatric surgery.

Other speciality services that will be available are cardiology, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology, dental and critical care, which are in addition to current specialty services already offered at its acquired Arunamari Hospital, namely, general medicine; general surgery; orthopaedics and trauma care; ear, nose and throat surgery; obstetrics and gynaecology; urology, dermatology and ophthalmology. Each of these departments will be a centre of excellence.

The wide range of multi-speciality services qualifies Manipal Hospitals Klang to be classified as a tertiary-care hospital, making it the eighth such hospital in the group, the statement read.

Manipal Hospitals Klang will have a team of over 300 nursing staff and 60 resident and visiting specialists when commissioned in 2015.

Manipal Hospitals is a unit of Manipal Health Enterprises Pvt Ltd, the healthcare arm of the Manipal Group, a multinational company with a presence in Nepal, Dubai, the Carribean island and the US.

Manipal Hospitals manages 15 hospitals with a total of over 5,200 beds.

Of these, seven are secondary (basic specialist) hospitals, seven are tertiary and one is a quarternary hospital where organ transplant and robot-assisted surgeries are carried out.