By BERNAMA / Pic By MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

LONDON • Institut Jantung Negara Holdings Sdn Bhd (IJN) is expected to start the construction of its second heart centre in Johor Baru (JB) next year and slated for completion in the next three to four years, said CEO Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Azhari Yakub.

He said the government owned hospital had signed a memorandum of understanding with Permodalan Nasional Bhd last year to set up the new hospital to cater to the demand for cardiac treatment in the southern part of Malaysia and neighbouring countries, namely Singapore and Batam in Indonesia.

The 150-bed hospital, to be located in Taman Perling, Johor, will offer medical services to between 20 and 30 patients for cardiology and heart-related treatments.

Taman Perling is 20 minutes from the JB city centre and served by the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link Expressway.

“We play a key role in terms of medical tourism in cardiology and cardiac surgery in Malaysia and the Malaysia health tourism has identified IJN as the flagship hospital for cardiology and cardiac surgery…so, it is promoting IJN around the world,” Dr Mohd Azhari told reporters on the sidelines of his London visit yesterday.