Johor Identifies Site For Wellness Township Development

26 July 2010 , By Bernama

A 202.34-hectare site has been identified by the Johor state government for the development of a wellness township which will provide modern and alternative medicine and wellness services to Johorians and Singaporeans.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said the site of the project to be initiated by two government-linked companies from Malaysia and Singapore, Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Temasek Holdings, will be facing the Strait of Tebrau, just beyond Danga Bay.

Abdul Ghani said initially three sites have been proposed but the one at the waterfront had been the preferred choice of the interested parties.

"We hope that the detailed planning of this township could be achieved before year-end," he said, adding that it would take less than five years for the project to be completed.

Value of the project, however, has yet to be ascertained.

Abdul Ghani said this to reporters after he officiated the Columbia Asia Hospital-Nusajaya at Afiat Healthpark in Nusajaya on Saturday.

He said the state government would wait and see whether Singapore would allow its people to use Medisafe to seek medical and wellness services at the wellness township.

Singaporeans are only allowed to use Medisafe, the country's compulsory national health care savings programme, at medical facilities where the Singapore government has an interest.

So far, it has only allow Singaporeans to seek cheaper medical services at three hospitals in Malaysia, namely Regency Specialist Hospital in Seri Alam, Johor Baharu; Mahkota Medical Centre in Melaka; and Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

Earlier in his speech, Abdul Ghani said the establishment of Columbia Asia Hospital was in line with the nation's objective of developing the private healthcare sector as one of the 12 National Key Economic Areas under the 10th Malaysia Plan.

The first hospital at Afiat Healthpark, an area tailored specifically for medical facilities in the Iskandar Malaysia development corridor, was meaningful as it would contribute towards providing better healthcare access, coverage and quality healthcare services for communities within Nusajaya and surrounding areas, he said.

Also present at the event were the chief executive officer of Columbia Asia Hospitals in Malaysia, Kelvin Tan, and general manager of Columbia Asia Hospital-Nusajaya, Rahani Yaacob.