By ALEX ENEBELI

The Enugu State Government and some Nigerians in the diaspora have sealed a deal to build an over $300 million state-of-the-art medical city in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the group is made up of Nigerian medical personnel based in the United States, United Kingdom, Africa and Europe.

Welcoming the investors to Enugu, Gov. Peter Mbah said that the development was in line with his campaign promise to grow the state’s economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion

He said that the medical city, which will play in all the value chain of medical services, is to make Enugu State the hub of medical tourism in the African continent.

According to him, Enugu State will provide 100 hectares of land, which is 10 per cent equity stake in the project.

Mbah said that it was in line with his vision to make the state the premier destination for business, investment, tourism, and living.

He assured the investors that the state government would discharge its obligations to ensure a timely realisation of the initiative.

The governor blamed lack of modern facilities as the reason why Nigerians sought medical tourism abroad.

“What we are witnessing here today is monumental, and we cannot take the value and the significance of it for granted. This is in line with the humongous promise we made to our people during our campaign.

“So, coming to Enugu with an investment size of over $300 million, we knew it was something that must not escape us when we heard of it.

“We must do everything necessary to ensure that the investment is not only cited here.

“You can be assured that we will discharge all those obligations creditably,” he said.

Speaking, the Chairman, African Medical City, Dr Ethelbert Nwanegbo, said that the group was attracted to Enugu by the investment and ease of doing business push by the present administration in the state.

“What we are trying to do here is to establish a medical city. A medical city is not just a medical building. So, when we think of Africa, we think of Nigeria.

“We are not looking at the Enugu State of yesterday, but Enugu State of the future, and there is no better time and place for us to establish the African Medical City than now in Enugu State.

“This project will improve the economy of Enugu, especially in the areas of GDP, employment, welfare of our young and older parents, and health status in the West African region,” Nwanegbo said.

In his remark, the President, African Medical City, Dr Uchenna Ogbozor, promised that the organisation would hit the ground running.

“African Medical City is a big organisation and we have 21 members as it stands today.

“So, I want to commend our members, including those that are not here, for their financial commitment and capabilities.

“We are looking at this investment to be an over $300 million investment. The government is giving us 100 hectares of land, representing 10 per cent of the investment,” Ogbozor said. (NAN)

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