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Indian giants to create biomedical hub
The country has to diversify to make sure it sustains a good growth. There is no question of relying only on two or three sectors to achieve economic prosperity. Mauritius can’t afford to be in the same situation as today where two of its three main economic pillars are severely threatened by external factors. With this in mind, the establishment of two huge medical centres from India - Apollo Hospitals (AH) and the Sri Ramachandra Medical College (SRMCRI) – is an important step towards making Mauritius a biomedical hub and giving a boost to private medicine in the country.
With Rs 1.6 billion investments for both projects, the objective is to put Mauritius on the map for medical tourism. Like in Singapore, India, South Africa, Thailand, Morocco or Tunisia, Mauritius should attract more tourists with the development of this new sector. The latter would come and spend their holidays in Mauritius while seizing the opportunity to undergo a check-up, specific treatment and even some types of plastic surgery. “The presence in Mauritius of such a prestigious institution as Apollo Hospitals will certainly boost medical tourism. Mauritius has all the ingredients to become such a destination the more so as we are already an upmarket destination for tourists,” insists the manager of the Board of Investment, Nitin Pandea.
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In collaboration with British American Investment (BAI), AH intends to invest Rs 1 billion in a hospital with 200 beds in Ebène. With their neurosurgery, urology and oncology services, the hospital would allow Mauritians and expatriates to undergo high-tech treatment locally. Work for the high-tech hospital will start in October just as for the new medical college in Belle-Rive.
The SRMCRI medical college will provide Mauritian and foreign students with courses leading to diplomas in medicine. With its Rs 600 million investment, 1,500 beds – and its 114 beds in an intensive care unit – its 25 operating theatres and its 175-acre campus, the SRMCRI will be the biggest medical college in south-eastern Asia. It should open in about two years.
In fact, the biomedical sector includes much more than medical tourism and high-tech medicine. The assembly and manufacture of medical machines, pharmaceutical research and medical outsourcing, telemedicine and services of support and education as well as health care are also part of that sector.
The BOI manager explains: “With the infrastructure and luxury hotels that already exist here, we are in a good position to offer integrated packages for health care, welfare and relaxation”. The sector is also known to be one of value-added, which is likely to bring in much foreign direct investment. It is thus worth the effort of trying to develop it.
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