China Metallurgical Group signs $531m expat hospital deal with Kuwait

China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC) has signed a $530.85m deal with Kuwait’s Health Insurance Company (Daman) to build two new hospitals in the Jahra and Ahmadi governorates.

The hospitals will have a capacity for 600 beds each and will serve insurance-paying expats, who account for up to 70 per cent of the country’s 4.4 million population.

Dr Ahmad Al-Saleh, Daman’s board member and chief executive said the two facilities would be operational by the end of 2019 and MCC would carry out design, construction, equipping and maintenance work, according to state news agency KUNA.

The country is also planning to build a third hospital at Farwaniya but no additional details were disclosed.

Daman is a $759m joint venture between the public and private sectors designed to create new hospitals where expats can be treated separately from Kuwaitis.

Under the current system, expats are banned for going to some hospitals in the morning unless it is an emergency.

The country’s annual health insurance fees for expats will increase to KD130 ($425 from the current KD50 ($164) once the hospitals have been built, according to reports.