GEORGE TOWN, Feb 17 — Selgate Corporation Sdn Bhd signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MTT Properties and Development Sdn Bhd today to build a private specialist hospital in Bandar Baru Air Putih in Balik Pulau, Penang.
Selgate executive director Noor Hisham Mohd Ghouth said the hospital is expected to be completed by 2025 and that it will have 150 beds.
“Selgate envisions to be one of the leading private healthcare operators in Malaysia and we are striving to provide quality healthcare that is affordable at the same time to fill up the gap in underserved areas,” he said.
He added that the partnership with MTT Properties marked another milestone for Selgate as part of its exercise to diversify its operations and revenue stream.
He said the company will be operating seven hospitals, boasting a total 1,000 beds, in the next five years including the upcoming one in Balik Pulau.
Selgate’s first hospital in Rawang, Selangor is expected to start its operations early next year.
MTT group chairman Datuk Seri Kenny Ong said MTT Properties has allocated five acres of its land for its first venture into healthcare.
He said the growing township in Balik Pulau currently does not have a specialist hospital and only has the Balik Pulau general hospital to serve the residents in the area.
“This hospital will not only be able to provide quality healthcare to the township but will also extend to the Balik Pulau and other neighbouring communities at large,” he said.
Ong added that the hospital will also enhance their first integrated aged care facility, Eden @ Botanica CT, which will be launched later this year.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who witnessed the signing ceremony, said he is fully in support of the new specialist hospital.
He said Penang’s population is ageing where the median age has risen from 29.6 in 2010 to 31.5 in 2017.
“As Penang continues to become an ageing nation, the pressure on the provision of good healthcare services will continue to build,” he said.
He said the state’s population is also expected to double over the next 10 years and the demand for good healthcare services and facilities will continue to rise.
“The establishment of a private specialist hospital, particularly in Balik Pulau, is unquestionably necessary, as there are currently no such private healthcare facilities in the area,” he said.
He added that the addition of the private hospital to the 18 existing private hospitals in Penang will solidify the state’s position as the top destination in Malaysia’s healthcare travel industry.
He said Penang recorded RM750 million from 500,000 patients who flew in to the state for its healthcare facilities in 2019 and Penang was also named the most established state in healthcare travel under the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Industry Blueprint 2021-2025.
