As construction prices in the Middle East fall, the region’s healthcare sector is not only surviving the global economic crisis, but is thriving with about $14 billion being spent on new hospitals and healthcare facilities, said an expert.

There are currently more than 100 hospitals in the planning stage across the Middle East and Africa, said Simon Page, group director for Life Sciences at IIR Middle East, the organisers of Hospital Build.

Hospital Build, to run from June 14 to 16 in Dubai, will bring investors, commissioners, backers and managers of major healthcare building projects together with planning, design, building, operations, management and refurbishment suppliers.

'While so many industries are feeling the bite of the credit crunch, healthcare projects remain relatively unaffected because of government support and a long term commitment to healthcare infrastructure growth, Simon pointed out.

“Approximately $14 billion is being spent in the Arabian Gulf countries alone on new hospitals and healthcare facilities,” he added.

'Towards the end of 2008, it was reported that some medical projects were postponed as a result of an increase in the cost of building materials.'

'Now, however, the cost of steel and cement have tumbled – approximately 70 per cent and 22 per cent respectively – and many projects, such as the $1.9 billion first phase of the Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi and the $572million Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum Academic Medical Centre in Dubai Healthcare City are progressing well,” Page stated.

Burt Hill, one of the world’s largest architecture, engineering, interior design and landscape architecture companies, will be taking part in Hospital Build to showcase their work on Al Mafraq Hospital, one of Abu Dhabi’s oldest hospitals, which is being replaced with state of the art facilities using environmentally friendly and energy-efficient design elements.

Burt Hill has been appointed to help deliver a 70 per cent increase in hospital rooms and triple the number of treatment rooms at the Al Mafraq hospital, part of the Abu Dhabi 2030 plan.

The new hospital, with 690 beds, will recycle waste water, reduce electrical use with fibre optic interior sunlighting, and incorporate extensive use of solar panels.

“Burt Hill’s position in markets such as healthcare, education and infrastructure has offered us a degree of stability during these economically challenging times,” said Norman Soto, director of Healthcare for the UAE, Burt Hill.

'Hospital Build offers us a unique opportunity to engage directly with hospital developers and operators, healthcare providers, hospital management and facilities management personnel.'

'The exhibition is an excellent platform to gauge the state of the healthcare market in this region and provide us with valuable knowledge regarding the needs of healthcare providers,' Soto added.

The inaugural Hospital Build exhibition and conference (www.hospitalbuild-me.com) is being organised by the team behind Arab Health, the region’s largest annual gathering for healthcare professionals.

Seven comprehensive conferences will run alongside the exhibition, including the well established Hospital Design and Upgrade (HDU) event.

The HDU conference, which has until now taken place during Arab Health, will address sustainable healthcare solutions through better design. Twenty five powerful sessions, over three days, will highlight the latest thinking in clinical design.

Internationally recognised industry speakers, such as Dr Moham Chellappa, president of Global Ventures at Johns Hopkins Medicine-International, US and Dr Philipp Vetter, head of Strategy at the Health Authority Abu Dhabi, will address delegates during the conferences.

The exhibition will also host the first Hospital Build