AMCE Hospital In Nigeria Gets US$40 Million Injection
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Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has pledged a US$40 million equity investment in the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) Abuja hospital project in Nigeria to support the first phase of construction. The facility is being developed by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in partnership with King’s College Hospital London.
AMCE Abuja is being built in four phases over six years, across an area of 51,200 square metres. A groundbreaking ceremony for the project was held in December 2021 and construction commenced in 2022. Work on the first phase is now more than 50% complete. The facility is expected to begin operations in the first quarter of 2025.
Today we signed an equity investment term sheet, pledging up to US$40 million towards the construction of the @amceafrica Abuja hospital. The visionary 500-bed medical health facility is currently being developed by @afreximbank in partnership with King’s College Hospital, London pic.twitter.com/3wDW1dnleZ
— Africa Finance Corp. (@africa_finance) February 21, 2024
The US$300 million first phase involves constructing a 170-bed specialist hospital (expandable to 500 beds by phase three), along with multi-specialty units and supplementary components such as a pharmaceuticals section, retail outlets, academic and research centres, and hospitality and residential units.
Upon completion of the second phase, the total capital outlay will reach US$700 million.
South Africa’s Cappa & D’Alberto and Canada-headquartered WSP are the design-and-build contractors for the project and the local Nairda Limited is the MEP contractor.
South Africa’s Bovell Ross is the project manager, PwC Nigeria the management consultant and a team of Lebanon’s Dar al-Handasah and the US’ Perkins+Will is the design consultant.
AMCE Abuja will offer oncology, haematology, cardiovascular and general healthcare services, and is projected to treat more than 350,000 patients within the first five years of operation.
It is planned to be the first in a series of medical centres of excellence to be built in Africa. Nigeria was selected in 2017 as the host country for the first AMCE following a competitive bidding process in which Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania also participated. The four countries had previously been identified as prospective host countries by a pre-feasibility study commissioned by Afreximbank and conducted by Kings College Hospital in 2015.
According to the AFC, the African healthcare sector faces a severe infrastructure deficit and a chronic shortage of qualified medical practitioners. As a result, many people travel overseas for medical care. Hospitals across West Africa are burdened with a lack of funding and essential resources, and limited access in rural areas.
The AMCE Abuja project will create about 3,000 jobs during the construction and operational phases, employing over 200 people and offering training opportunities for doctors and nurses. Additionally, it aims to attract medical talent back to continent.
“Building a world-class facility that captures medical spend in Africa, promotes specialist skills development, retains and, most importantly, attracts healthcare practitioners in our local communities, aligns well with AFC’s import substitution strategy,” said AFC president and CEO Samaila Zubairu.
Photo: AMCE Abuja rendering (Source: Dar al-Handasah)
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