More than 70 new hospitals needed by 2022

13 September 2017

JLL report says 10,500 extra hospital beds needed in five cities just to maintain bed provision

Property consultant JLL estimates at least 70 new hospitals need to be built in five key Middle East cities by 2022.

The company’s newly released report on the regional healthcare sector concludes that the Middle East is lagging behind other developed economies in terms of per capita spending on healthcare and the provision of hospital beds.

Faced with a shortage of hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities, an ageing population and the rise of medical tourism, JLL estimates the cities of Cairo, Jeddah, Riyadh, Dubai and Abu Dhabi need to add a combined 10,500 hospital beds over the next five years, which equates to 70 new hospitals, just to maintain the current per capita bed provision.

JLL says the biggest requirement is in Cairo, which needs an additional 4,800 beds and 32 hospitals by 2022. Next is Riyadh, with 2,250 beds and 15 hospitals. The figures for Dubai are 1,050 beds and 7 hospitals, while Abu Dhabi has slightly higher requirements at 1,350 beds and 9 hospitals. The figures given for Jeddah are the same as for Dubai.

Even with this additional capacity, the per capita provision of hospital beds in the region will remain far behind the OECD average of 4.8 beds per 1,000 people, at 1.9 beds. To reach the OECD average, JLL says 470,000 additional beds would be required across the same five major cities by 2022, which equates to 3,130 new hospitals.

With such huge requirements, JLL says the healthcare market is highly attractive for real estate investors, offering a chance to diversify their portfolios in a sector not tied to the performance of the economy.

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