IJM team tipped to win Kerala medical city job

KOZHIKODE (Kerala): A consortium comprising IJM Bhd (3336) and Malaysia Allied Health Science Academy College (Mahsa) is tipped to develop a medical city in Kerala once the state government gives its nod.

The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation and Malaysia's Construction Industry Development Board 9CIDB), both parties of the consortium, are engaged in serious talks to ink the agreement for the RM433 million (US$120 million) project in Kinalur in Kozhikode City.

"Through the CIDB, we signed the memorandum of agreement with the Kerala state government in September and hope to sign the final agreement any time soon.

"The estimated investment for the first phase is likely to surpass US$120 million and could be completed in three years' time.
"Malaysian companies have expressed interest to develop this project. This is a good opportunity for our country to export the expertise we have and develop our own technical knowledge," Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed, who visited the project site, said.


MOHD ZIN: Good opportunity to export Malaysian expertise

IJM will be the master builder while Mahsa will be involved in providing medical infrastructure.

The proposed integrated medical city, to be developed in four phases, will be built on a 110ha site in Kinalur, about 42km from Kozhikode or also known as Calicut - the third largest city in the southern state of Kerala.

A medical university, hospital, nursing scool, dental college and health centres comprising both traditional and modern medicine as well as pharmaceutical product manufacturers are being planned for the medical city.

The Malaysian consortium is also proposing to build a highway, cutting through Kinalur, which will slash the distance by half from the main city to the project site.

Once developed, it will easily create nearly 25,000 skilled and semi-skilled jobs for the locals, who rely heavily on agriculture.

After the visit, Kerala Public Works Minister Mons Joseph called on Mohd Zin for further discussions on the medical city project.

Speaking to reporters later, Joseph said Malaysian companies are keen to develop the project and the state government will hold further talks before finalising an agreement to kick off the mega undertaking which will transform the remote district into a satellite township.

By Bernama