TMC Life Sciences invests RM300m on hospital expansion

The hospital is expected to have a capacity of housing 600 beds from the current 200 beds

By FARA AISYAH / Pic By MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

TMC Life Sciences Bhd (TMCLS) has allocated RM300 million to build a new extension block at its flagship hospital, Tropicana Medical Centre (TMC), in Kota Damansara.

Once the extension is completed in 2020, the hospital is expected to have a capacity of housing 600 beds from the current 200 beds.

The group’s recently appointed CEO Wan Nadiah Wan Mohd Abdullah Yaakob said the investment for this move was from internally generated funds and borrowings that will cover the cost of the new building, as well as its internal renovation expenses.

“This expansion is just the first phase in building a larger platform to offer advanced healthcare services and solutions to patients across the region.

“The current TMC building was built on one-third of a 2.43ha piece of land. The new expansion occupies another one-third of the remaining land, leaving another 0.81ha for future development,” she said at the groundbreaking ceremony last week.

Apart from the additional 400 inpatient beds and critical care beds, the new building will also include 110 specialist clinics, five operating theatres, offices and clusters of meeting rooms, retail and food and beverage outlets, as well as over 1,100 parking bays.

Moving forward, the group is able to leverage on ample land for future projects not only in Kota Damansara, but for Vantage Bay in Johor as well.

Together with its affiliate Thomson Medical Group, TMCLS is venturing into a new first-of-its-kind integrated medical hub named “Thomson Iskandar”.

The project will be developed as part of the proposed Vantage Bay Healthcare City in Johor Baru, and is set to house a 500-bed tertiary hospital, specialist medical suites and related health, as well as wellness facilities.

Sprawling across 1.67ha of land, Thomson Iskandar is expected to attract medical tourism from Singapore and across the region.

Currently, medical tourism has contributed up to 15% to TMCLS’ revenue. With the new RM1.2 billion project in Johor, the group is targeting approximately 30% of its revenue to be contributed from the sector.

The construction work to extend TMC is scheduled to begin in October, while Thomson Iskandar is currently awaiting final approvals from the relevant authorities before commencing construction work.

Meanwhile, TMCLS chairman Datuk Dr Khalid Abdul Kadir said the expansion will make TMC one of the biggest private hospitals in the region.

“With our growing team of specialist consultants and our focus on strong, sustainable financials, we are positive that we will continue to provide excellent care to our patients locally and from across the region,” he said.

For the first nine months of the current financial year, the group has maintained its robust performance with a year-to-date growth of 31% in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, as well as 13% growth in profit after tax compared to the same period last year.