(CMR) Aster DM Healthcare and the Cayman Islands Government announced an agreement that would see the development of an initial 150-bed comprehensive tertiary and quaternary care hospital replicating an existing facility in Kochi, India.
The agreement will place a moratorium on any additional medical tourism facilities not already in the Cayman Islands gaining entry to the islands. The five year non-compete clause does not apply to Caymanains.
The US$350 million, 500-bed hospital Aster Cayman Medcity has many comparing it to Health City despite the developers noting that there are major differences between the projects and the market that they would be attracting.
The joint commitment, it was shared, would position the Cayman Islands as “THE destination for destination healthcare or medical tourism” with the establishment of a “Medcity” that would include Cayman Brac.
The team leading the project hopes to break ground in early 2021, with the commencement of the Aster Cayman Medcity – phase 1 construction on Grand Cayman offering specialized medical care not currently available in the Cayman Islands. This phase is expected to take three years for completion. There will also be a clinic in Cayman Brac.
Phase 2 will provide an assisted living and independent living facility with 100 units each. Phase 3 will comprise a medical university integrated with the hospital and the hospital will be expanded to around 500 beds during this phase and is anticipated to start some seven years after the hospital has been operations.
A late morning press conference at government headquarters shared that the Aster project will inject hundreds of millions into the construction sector and create nearly 2,000 jobs in both direct and indirect roles. They planned to sign the agreement with the facility after the press briefing.
They have promised to develop an educational program for local students interested in healthcare and in conjunction with the Ministry of Education provide an annual scholarship for USD$50,000 for two years increasing to USD$75,000 for two additional years with a final increase to USD$100,000 for the fifth year.
Premier Alden McLaughlin shared that this was a partnership to develop a new modern world-class medical facility in the Cayman Islands. He noted that the announcement was important because they are a large well respected healthcare group headquartered in Dubai and has been in existence for over 30-years with over 19,000 employees working in 350 various medical facilities across eight countries.
The panel also revealed that unlike Health City they were be no construction concessions allowed. The only concessions that would be permitted are for medical equipment and supplies. The government has agreed that there will be no duty on life saving and medical supplies for the first 25 years.
Government will not defer, waive or reduce custom duties for any materials or equipment used in the construction phase. They will also not waive or reduce any stamp duties of any land. Aster cannot resell any medical equipment or supplied to anyone except its own patients.
Commenting on the agreement by Government, Honourable Alden McLaughlin, Premier for the Cayman Islands and Minister for Human Resources, Immigration, Community Affairs, International Trade, Investment, Aviation and Maritime Affairs, said,
“Given both my role as Premier and Minister with responsibility for International Trade and Investment, I am delighted that an organisation of Aster’s calibre is investing in the Cayman Islands, especially at this time. Aster’s willingness to invest several hundred millions of dollars in the Cayman Islands economy, in spite of the economic
downturn caused by COVID- 19, speaks volumes not only of their confidence in the Cayman Islands but also of the resiliency of our economy and our people. This project will not only help to diversify our economy, but it will also provide employment and new opportunities for our people during the construction phase and for decades to come.”
Speaking on the announcement, Dr. Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman and Managing Director of Aster DM Healthcare said,
“With our experience of delivering healthcare over three decades in India and the Middle East, Aster is in the process expanding to other regions. Apart from catering to the requirements of the local population for tertiary and quaternary care, Cayman Islands in the Caribbean has the potential for attracting patients from USA, Canada and the Caribbean countries for holistic healthcare experience due to its proximity.”
Mr Gene Thompson is the project director for the development and made the business case for the project. He explained that the influx of both services supplied and job creation will benefit the people of the Cayman Islands. He noted that health care tourism is a thriving global industry reaching 112 billion by 2024 with 8 billion being spent regionally with the US benefiting from most of that.
He was also the project director for the Health City in East End. Despite the comparisons to what many see as their immediate competitor in the area of medical tourism they have shared that the project will be different.
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