Aster DM Healthcare, the healthcare conglomerate in the Middle East and India will open three new hospitals under two different brands in the UAE. The Dubai-based healthcare major will also unveil the phase I of Aster Medcity, which is claimed to be South Asia’s largest quaternary care hospital in Kochi-Kerala, before  March this year. The new projects in the Middle East is at an estimated investment of AED 260 million.

Among the three new UAE hospitals, the first project is the Aster Hospital in Mankhool, Bur Dubai. The facility, with 85 beds, is in the final phase of the preparation for commissioning in the third quarter of the year. The other two projects the 75-bed Medcare Mother & Children Specialised Hospital on Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai and a 110-bed Medcare Hospital in Sharjah are nearing completion and scheduled to open very soon. The three hospitals will have a combined capacity of 270 beds, ensuring better accessibility, availability and affordability of quality healthcare for more patients.

The super-specialty Medcare Mother & Children Specialized Hospital would offer comprehensive mother and child care with an advanced neonatology unit, and a super-speciality centre for post-delivery dermatology and skin care. The Medcare Hospital in Sharjah would be a multi-specialty premium hospital.

The Aster Medcity, Kochi, prepared for a soft launch of the phase I in February, spreads over 40 acres along one kilometer waterfront, aimed at integrating nature with healing. The quaternary care referral hospital cluster is being developed at an estimated investment of US$ 300 million. The Aster Medcity will capitalize the potential of the Kerala as a health tourism destination, attracting patients globally.

A fourth hospital, under the Aster brand, is also being developed in Qatar and scheduled to launch in 2015. With the new hospitals, the bed capacity will be increased by 5,000 over the existing 1,850 beds. The Group plans  to roll out another 25 Aster medical centres and 150 Aster pharmacies across the GCC by the end of 2015 to achieve its planned 300 units by the year 2017.

“Our new hospital projects are  aimed at providing care to people from all sections of the society. This is part of our strategy to lead the change in the healthcare sector by being the largest healthcare provider in the region. We will soon unveil Aster Medcity, which focuses on health tourism in Kerala, India,” said Dr Azad Moopen, chairman and managing director of Aster DM Healthcare.

“We have about 1,200 beds under construction. The number of units under the Group will increase to 300 units by 2017,” he added.

“The green field project, ASTER Medcity located at Cheranallur in Kochi, will cover a 3.2 million Sqft built-up area in its first and second phases of the development. In the first phase, Aster Medcity will have a 575 bed master hospital, flanked by nine Centres of Excellence (CoE). The second phase will see an addition of 500 beds to the facility along with a Medical Convention Centre, a 4-star hotel and serviced apartment complex, staff accommodation for medical and paramedical professionals all in one campus,” he said.

Aster Medcity will have a pool of reverse brain doctors, researchers and medical professionals.

A workforce of approximately 2,000 specialty doctors and other staff will be deployed for patient care in the first phase of the project. A high-end residential facility of about 1.5 million sq. ft. is also planned with an integrated township to accommodate 10,000 people.