Isfahan will take a giant step toward realizing its ambitious goal of becoming a regional medical hub when the second phase of its ‘Healthcare City’ is complete before the fiscal year is out in March 2018.
Reza Heybati, manager of the Isfahan Healthcare City Project, was quoted by the Persian-language weekly Salamat as saying that Phase II will be completed in the second half of the current Iranian year.
“The first phase included the construction of clinics, medical stores and restaurants serving organic foods,” he said, adding that the next phase involves the establishment of a modern center for radiation medicine, including diagnostic and therapeutic facilities such as MRI, PET and CT scans as well as a digital radiology laboratory.
The second phase is almost 80% complete.
Phases lll and IV include construction of a 400-bed hospital with several wards and a 12-storey four-star hotel.
The main goal of the project is to attract people from across the country as well as foreign tourists to the emerging regional medical hub. Already a popular tourist destination, Isfahan is one of Iran’s major cultural and economic centers.
Launched in 2012, the Healthcare City is planned for completion in the next four years. Once ready, it will create 1,500 direct jobs and have the capacity to treat 3,500 patients.
The project is being built on a 300-hectare land near Aqa Babaei Expressway, Isfahan’s main motorway.
Investors hope the project will expand and help improve the city’s medical tourism market.
“We will strive to attract leading domestic and overseas medical experts and create a special medical zone as part of efforts to establish an advanced healthcare infrastructure compatible with the top tourist destination, Isfahan,” Heybati said.
Isfahan is an ancient city in the semi-desert region of central Iran, about 340 kilometers south of Tehran. In terms of population, it is the country’s third largest city after Tehran and Mashhad.
Specialized Care
The hospital (which will also serve to train medical professionals) will provide specialized care for a variety of health problems while the clinics offer treatment for cardiovascular illnesses, cancers, lung disease and neurological problems. The healthcare complex also provides long-term care services for seniors and chronically ill patients.
The healthcare city’s wellness stores will provide general health improvement services including beauty treatments and traditional medicine.
It will help Iran in achieving its health tourism target of generating $2.5 billion a year, particularly with the aid of similar schemes in other major cities, namely Mashhad and Tabriz.
While regional rival Dubai has had a head start in the area thanks to the establishment of Dubai Healthcare City, Isfahan and other Iranian metropolises are banking on the country’s high quality medical services offered at affordable rates to mount a challenge.
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