Mihan may get 1,000-bed modern hospital, for foreigners

Nagpur: Mihan-SEZ may have a state-of-the-art hospital to treat foreign patients in coming days. Indo-UK Institute of Health (IUIH), an initiative on collaboration in healthcare between the two countries, has Mihan-SEZ on its radar. A team of Make-in-India officials and those from IUIH visited the SEZ on Thursday with a proposal to take up around 150 acres land in the SEZ. Further discussions will take place before final allotment.
If it materializes, the SEZ will get a 1,000-bed multi-speciality hospital. A UK-based medical college, nursing college and a post-graduate training academy may also come along. The other facilities can be an institute for paramedics, supply chain office and a unit to manufacture medical implants, said a press release issued by Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), the state government agency developing the Mihan-SEZ.
Since the hospital will be coming up within the SEZ, it will be predominantly meant for foreign patients. This is because in a SEZ, any undertaking has to fulfil the net foreign exchange earning norms. This means the value of exports has to be more than that of imports. Here imports would be in the form of medical equipment and exports will be earning through healthcare and other services. For the domestic patients, there were plans to later take up another land parcel in the non-SEZ area, said a source in the MADC who was part of negotiations with IUIH.
The hospital in Mihan is a part of the pact signed during Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s visit to the England for establishing 10 hospitals across the country. IUIH is the nodal agency driving its implementation in the country. The team also met the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The project is being planned to promote medical tourism in city by offering world class medical treatment to foreign as well as Indian patients. It is expected the project will create around 1 lakh jobs across the country. “IUIH supports healthcare links between UK and India. It also leads projects and healthcare work force plans between private and government bodies,” said the MADC press release.
Earlier there was a similar plan by Johns Hopkins Institute of US for setting up a hospital complex in Mihan. It did not take off. Now with IUIH coming, MADC hopes this may again pull back Johns Hopkins and some institutes affiliated to University of Oxford, said a source.