North to see its largest private hospital

A 1,000-bed private hospital will be set up in the northern district of Panchagarh at an estimated cost of Tk 2,500 crore from "local and foreign investors" who seek to meet healthcare needs of locals and neighbouring countries' citizens. 

The hospital is being planned to be built on 32 acres of land some 400 kilometres north of the capital and quite close to the border with India.

Entrepreneurs from home and abroad have taken the initiative to build the "North Point Medical College & Hospital", said its managing director, HM Jagangir Alam Rana.

"The entire finance will be sourced from local and international investors," he told The Daily Star over the phone on Thursday.

Rana, who owns a tea garden as well as business in the construction and hospitality sectors, said they would also get finance from international and local banks.

"Already we have submitted our project proposal to a slew of international banks and agencies.
We are in discussions with all of them," he said earlier.

"We are discussing with some European, Australian, American and Indian companies to build a big partnership to make the initiative successful," he added.

He said they wanted to open the hospital within two and a half years whereas the medical college upon availing necessary approvals from authorities concerned.

"This will be the biggest private sector investment in the healthcare sector," said Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi at its groundbreaking ceremony at Dariapara village in Panchagarh's sadar upazila yesterday.

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen and Panchagarh-1 constituency lawmaker Mazharul Haque Prodhan were present.

Munshi said he was personally involved in the establishment of Apollo Hospitals Bangladesh, which has now been renamed Evercare Hospital, where the total investment was around Tk 1,000 crore.

"When the hospital and medical college will run in full swing, they will contribute to the economy apart from providing better healthcare service to patients," he said.

He expected people from neighbouring Nepal, Bhutan and India to avail treatment there.

"The location of our district is very near to Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim of India. Our main target is to build a medical college besides a hospital so that we can attract students from those areas alongside the locals," said Rana.

"There are no good private healthcare facilities for residents of Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Rangpur and Dinajpur," he said.

"Patients in the district have to go to Dinajpur or Rangpur around 100 kilometres away for quality healthcare," he said.

"I think the initiative we have taken will bring benefit for the greater North Bengal region," Rana said.

"We have committed to set up the hospital to provide health service ensuring international standards. We will keep 30-32 per cent seats reserved for poor people of Panchagarh," said the hospital's chairman, Zhuang Lifeng.

According to Rana, Lifeng is the president of the Overseas Chinese Association in Bangladesh and managing director of Liz Fashion Industry, an export oriented foreign textile and apparel manufacturer operating in Bangladesh since 1997.

Only the Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders (BIRDEM) in Dhaka has around 1,000 beds. Renowned private hospitals have a maximum of 500 beds.