Chinese-built hospital in Kuwait celebrates soft opening

KUWAIT CITY, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- A ceremony was held in the Jahra Governorate of Kuwait on Wednesday to celebrate the soft opening of a Chinese-built new hospital.

The Jahra Hospital is one of the two hospitals built under the Kuwait Health Assurance Hospitals Company (HAHC) Project undertaken by the Metallurgical Corporation of China. The other hospital in the Ahmadi Governorate celebrated its soft opening on Dec. 18, 2022.

Each hospital contains a main building which includes the emergency unit, inspection and test laboratory, operating room, inpatient department, and a car park building of more than 500 spaces.

The comprehensive hospital project, with a total construction area of approximately 85,000 square meters and a contract value of around 500 million U.S. dollars, is dedicated to providing healthcare services to foreigners.

About 2.8 million foreign ex-pats lived in Kuwait in 2022, becoming a major part of the labor force in the Gulf state, according to the Kuwait Central Statistics.

The HAHC hospitals will improve the medical environment and health care for those ex-pats, said Chairman of Kuwait Industries Union Hussein Al Kharafi, adding that the project will also greatly alleviate the administrative and financial burdens on the Kuwaiti government.