Two new hospitals targeting patients from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as well as foreigners will soon be built in Shenzhen with investment from overseas.

This was disclosed by the city's health chief Jiang Hanping when he met an inspection team from the Ministry of Health on Monday.

The hospitals, following the opening of the first joint venture Longzhu Hospital on Nov. 28, will cater to the needs of a growing number of foreigners, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents living and working in Shenzhen, as well as wealthy local patients.

It is understandable that overseas investors covet the medical services market in a prosperous city like Shenzhen, said Vice Health Minister Huang Jiefu. "I hope Shenzhen can experiment with the idea and offer good examples for other cities," he said.

Aiqun Hospital, with investment from Taiwan businesspeople in the city and aimed at Shenzhen's growing Taiwanese population, will be built in Longhua Subdistrict, Bao'an District, with 600 beds in the inpatient department. Approved by the Ministry of Health in 2005, the hospital is the second overseas-funded medical institution in Shenzhen.

With links to the Harvard Medical School, the hospital is in the process of acquiring land, Jiang said.

The health bureau is also in discussions with the Britain-based Wisdom International Investment Management Co. Ltd. about another hospital. According to preliminary plans, the hospital will be located in the High-tech Park, Nanshan District, in the proximity of many foreign-invested firms.

"We have a partnership with the CHU de Poitiers, a top medical university in France. We have reached an agreement with the health bureau on the site of the Shenzhen International Hospital, which is still to be approved by the city government," said an official with Wisdom International.

The hospital will have 300 beds for inpatients.

Jiang, the health chief, said his bureau is also negotiating with the International Network of Insurance certification center. "We have asked them to inspect and certify the new hospitals, so that medical fees spent in the city can be covered by insurance policies bought overseas."

Binhai Hospital, a public hospital being built on the Binhai Thoroughfare, will offer 300 VIP beds for wealthy patients, Jiang said.

Statistics revealed that 1,442 Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents were admitted by Shenzhen hospitals in 2005. Most of them chose public hospitals. The health bureau has already designated the Shenzhen People's hospital, Beijing University Shenzhen Hospital and Luohu District People's Hospital as the major institutions serving overseas Chinese.

"The three hospitals offer special passages and wards for these people. They also employ senior doctors who speak fluent English to cater to their needs," said Xu Sihu, vice chief of the health bureau.

"Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwanese people and foreigners on a long-term stay in Shenzhen are recommended to join the social insurance network, so that a big chunk of their spending at public hospitals can be covered," Xu said.

Meanwhile, work on three of the four big public health projects in the city, including renovation of the Shenzhen People's Hospital and construction of the No. 3 People's Hospital and the new Center for Disease Control and Prevention, will kick off this month.

Editor: Yan