Express News Service
SRINAGAR: A day after the first real estate investors’ summit in Jammu and Kashmir in which 39 MoUs worth Rs 18,300 crore were signed, J&K government on Tuesday signed an MoU with Apollo Hospitals for a multi-speciality facility in Jammu, the winter capital of the UT.
The MoU was signed by Principal Secretary to J&K Government, Industries & Commerce Department, Ranjan Prakash Thakur and Dr Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha was present.
Apollo will set up a 250-bed hospital. It is expected to be completed in two years. In the second phase, the hospital would be upgraded to 500 beds. Dr Reddy said Apollo is a brand that has trust and loyalty and this project will generate more than 1,000 direct employment opportunities.
The hospital will not only be a training centre for doctors but also for nurses, paramedics, technicians and allied healthcare workers.
“Tomorrow when J&K becomes a hub of healthcare tourism, people from rest of the world can be treated here. This project will help us heal the world,” she said.
Lt Governor Sinha said there are healthcare facilities in government hospitals but private sector was lacking.
“We are happy that country’s leading healthcare group Apollo has signed an MoU with us.” He also announced that three-four similar projects are in the pipeline and talks with people are going on. “We will be signing MoUs with them also,” added the Lt Governor.
