Multinational construction company IBT Group, on Tuesday made a presentation to Nigeria’s Minister of Health Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, for the construction of a 1,687-bed-hospital in Abuja, valued at $650 million, to reduce perennial medical trips outside the country.

According to Punch Newspaper, Nigerians on the average expend $20,000 to $40,000 per visits for medical treatment culminating in a loss of over $500 million annually to medical tourism abroad.

Prof. Chukwu stated that the proposed project was in line with the Federal Government’s plan of providing world class public healthcare services and discouraging foreign visits for medical treatment.

He added that the 1,687-bed hospital would house 763 beds for Trauma Centre;300 beds for Amenities care pavilion; 524 beds for Pediatric section and 100 beds for Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation section.

The hospital project which is to be named Abuja Medical City, will be able to cater for 2,040,000 patients at a time, and is expected to be completed between 2 to 3 years.

However, the project must scale government procurement process before it is approved, a source said.

Pundits believe with the provision of healthcare infrastructures such as this attracting the return of Nigerian doctors in the diaspora, medical tourism outside the country, especially India, UK, and the US, would plummet.

IBT Group, which will handle the Abuja Medical City project alongside Sumolex and KMD Architects, has over 30 years experience in turnkey projects in 21 countries across four continents.