Vijayawada, Aug 12 (TNN): Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stone for BRS Medicity at Dondapadu village, near Amaravati on Thursday.
BRS Ventures and Holdings' proposed investment of $1.8 billion in Andhra Pradesh is a step towards changing the way medical education, research and development are conducted in India.
Padamshree Dr B R Shetty had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB) at the Partnership Summit in January 2017 on setting up the Medicity.
Dr Shetty moved from India to the UAE in 1973 in search of greener pastures and went on to become the pioneer of private healthcare sector in the UAE with NMC, which he established in 1975.
Under his leadership, an array of service-oriented businesses has flourished across healthcare, financial services, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, education, distribution, infrastructure and hospitality.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said he wants Amaravati to become a hub for healthcare and medical facilities, and added that in the coming years there will be substantial investment from the Gulf countries. Naidu further hinted that direct flights will be introduced between Vijayawada and Dubai soon and said he was hopeful that Medicity will change the face of Amaravati.
Dr Shetty said a state-of-the-art hospital, which will meet global standards besides being affordable, will come up in the BRS Medicity and laid emphasis on helping farmers who are the backbone of the nation.
With 1,500 beds and access to world-class medical education and allied health care at affordable prices, Amaravati will be the global magnet in the coming years, attracting the best of minds from Andhra Pradesh, India and the world.
Neopharma will also build a manufacturing facility in Amaravati to produce medical implementation and equipments for the multi-speciality hospital.
The BRS Amaravati Medicity will partner with University of California, San Diego, and the university shall accommodate 1,000-1,500 students where various programs will be offered in the spectrum of medicine and healthcare research.
"The healthcare landscape of the region will be transformed with BRS Amaravati Medicity's new facilities, gateways and plazas. They will be seamlessly integrated with the surrounding lifestyle components like transport hubs and entertainment cities including open air theatres, elevated walkways, community hubs and sports cities," added Shetty.
The chief minister, who delivered a 20-minute speech after laying the foundation stone of the project, looked exhausted all of a sudden and was forced to take rest for some time. It caused some worry in the crowd as the CM is known to be a very active person. Health teams were also alerted. However, he recovered after a few minutes.