The Managing Director of the Nigeria Export Process (NEPZA), Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, has said that the proposed world class medical enclave in Nigerian is aimed at ending the about $1 billion dollar expended on medical tourism annually by Nigerians.
He said they are expecting a total of 15 world class foreign hospitals and a handful from within the country that could deliver services at take-off by 2021.
Adesugba gave this assurance when the new President of the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN), Dr Pamela Ajayi paid him a courtesy visit on Monday in Abuja.
He said our aim is to bring to Nigeria, some of the best hospitals in abroad that our people spend this huge amount of money to the zone.
He reinstated that the agency is willing partner with relevant stakeholders to deliver the proposed world class medical enclave to Nigerians, all peoples of sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
He said there are deliberations on modalities for the creation of the zone have reached an advance stage because we indeed drew members of the committee from the right places.
He Medical Experts, Zone Experts, Industrialists, Medical Equipment Manufacturers, are among those on the committee and this explains the speed of our progress.
“The Healthcare Federation of Nigeria has some of its affiliates that are already buying into this great opportunity to invest in. Aside from the fact that zone operators have 100 per cent return on investments, no investment made in the medical zone in Nigeria will evaporate’’, Adesugba said.
Also Dr Ajayi however, said that the proposed medical free zone when developed would repositioned the health sector, adding that such a destination would ignite healthy competition between local and foreign healthcare providers.
She further said members of the association were prepared to key into the project, adding, that the Authority should think about reducing fees charged local medical companies to operate in the proposed zone.
Ajayi explained that her aforementioned request hinged on facts that local investors had longer term sustainability plans than their foreign counterparts.
“We must begin to encourage Local Direct Investment (LDI) and reduce the hype on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as far as this project is concern.
“ Doing so would reduce the country’s human capital flight in the medical sector and also encourage those that had left to return home. Indian did it and Indians are reaping bountifully from such political decision’’, Ajayi said.
