JEDDAH: The UK-based King’s College Hospital is poised to be functional in Jeddah by the end of 2023. The 175-year-old institution made its way to Jeddah in partnership with British investment manager Ashmore Group and Saudi Bugshan Group. The investment is to the tune of SR800 million ($214 million). The hospital plans to have 150 beds in the first phase and will increase it to 250 beds in the upcoming phases. It will have a fully equipped emergency department, single bedrooms, and VIP suites. “The hospital will employ over 200 doctors – 30 percent of which will come from the UK,” Ahsan Ali, head of health care, Ashmore Group, told Arab News. “The partnership will not be only on paper; they will regularly send doctors to King’s College Jeddah. The hospital will train the nurses in the UK, which will be a value-add to Jeddah’s population,” said Faris Bugshan, head of Bugshan Investments. Besides offering surgical and medical subspecialties, the hospital will specialize in musculoskeletal, women’s health, heart and vascular care, metabolic disease and bariatric surgery. “We can manage about 20,000 admissions and 500,000 clinic visit a year,” said Johannes Kedzierski, CEO of King’s College Hospital Jeddah The project is the first of its kind in the Kingdom and the second in GCC, following the launch of another branch earlier in Dubai. “We expect to do better in Jeddah as it’s a much bigger market and more potential for us to contribute,” said Ashmore’s Ali. He expects the project to reach breakeven in 18-23 months of operations, based on the hospital’s earnings record in Dubai. Ashmore has been in the Saudi market for over 20 years, investing in many sectors, including education and food and beverages. “We have assets under management of about SR7.5 billion, including this hospital,” said Abdullah Al-Shwer, board member and CEO of Ashmore Saudi Arabia. The investment group plans to build another hospital in Riyadh within 18 months. Once the hospitals are fully operating in the Kingdom, the group plans to list the hospital in the Saudi market as a priority target.