GE, Century Properties to build RP medical-IT center

GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric, and Philippine real estate developer Century Properties will build a $100 million outpatient medical-information technology building in the business and financial district of Makati City. “The project will rise in a one-hectare IT park accredited by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority at the 3.4-hectare Century City, [Century Properties’] flagship mixed-use development on Kalayaan Avenue," the developer said in a statement Wednesday. “The project is expected to generate 3,000 jobs during its construction and 5,000 jobs upon the start of operations, which is estimated to be in the latter part of 2013 or early 2014," the real estate developer added. A memorandum of understanding was singed by representatives of GE and Century Properties on at the Sofitel Hotel in New York City on Sept. 23 coinciding with the US trip of President Benigno Aquino III to attend the United Nations General Assembly and for the business roadshow to attract foreign investors to the Philippines. Present at the signing were GE Technology Infrastructure vice chairman and CEO John Rice and GE vice president and senior counsel Karan Bhatia, with Century Properties chairman Jose E.B. Antonio. President Aquino, Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima, and Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras also witnessed the signing. Accessible “We are optimistic that this assistance of providing advanced medical equipment, best practices and technological solutions will not only boost medical tourism in the Philippines, but also improve the standards of outpatient medical services in the country and make this accessible to more people," GE’s Rice said in the statement. “It is a privilege to work with GE Healthcare for this project in the interest of promoting the Philippines as a top medical tourism destination with globally competitive standards for outpatient medical services," Antonio said. “By providing the right venue with the right technology and systems, doctors may now put up clinics and provide the best care possible for people the world over," Antonio added. Medical tourism is a rapidly growing industry in the Philippines, which can fully benefit from the establishment of new and technologically-advanced medical facilities, according to Century Properties. With about 30-member hospitals, clinics, wellness centers and resorts, the Philippine medical tourism industry registered gross revenues of $350 million since 2006. The Department of Tourism expects the total revenues of $3 billion by 2015, with the industry catering to 1,000,000 foreign patients a year. “Research also shows that the Philippines has an even bigger potential in attracting medical tourists because of its culture of hospitality, quality healthcare services, competent medical practitioners, and cheaper medical treatments of as low as 70 percent compared to other Asian countries," Century Properties said. GE is the fifth largest company in the US with revenues of $183 billion, while UK-based GE Healthcare is its $17-billion unit and a leading global provider of healthcare information and medical technology. —VS, GMANews.TV