OCHO RIOS, St Ann:

Ground is expected to be broken later this year for the first major investment in health tourism to be undertaken in Jamaica.

A hospital group from Spain's Canary Islands will be building a state-of-the-art private hospital in Rose Hall, St James, to cater primarily for the growing tourism market.

Spanish Ambassador to Jamaica, Jesús Silva, disclosed this during an interview, with The Gleaner, while on a tour of the Gran Bahía Principe hotel - another major Spanish Investment - in Runaway Bay, St Ann.

Silva said the investors plan to start with a 50-bed hospital and then expand to 100 beds or more. The facility will be opened to locals in need of the specialised treatment available, The Gleaner has learnt.

Top-rated Jamaican practitioners

Ambassador Silva also said efforts were being made to have the hospital run by top-rated Jamaican practitioners who have excelled in their fields overseas.

Elaborating on the project, he said, "The company is telling me that they are thinking of starting to work on the approval by the middle of this year and they hope to start breaking ground by the end of the year."

Describing the purchase as a very important investment in health tourism, Ambassador Silva said it would give visitors, especially those in the high-end market, greater confidence in choosing a Jamaican vacation due to the availability of specialised health care.

It is also understood that members of the hospital group decided to invest in the industry after an exploratory mission last September.

The Spanish ambassador said his country viewed Jamaican investments as lucrative.

"I think probably and I hope that we will see more investment coming very soon," he said.

There are currently six Spanish hotel groups doing business in Jamaica and Ambassador Silva said they were being encouraged to look at other areas outside the tourist industry.

He said the Spanish-Jamaica Foundation, comprising Spanish investors in Jamaica, is looking at not only encouraging job creation for locals but wants to ensure that Jamaicans, expecially the disabled, are properly trained.

"We are embarking on a project with the council of disabilities to encourage some disabled people to also have chances to get some of the new jobs that are being offered by the hotels," said Silva.

The 600-room Gran Bahía Principe hotel in Runaway Bay, St Ann, is celebrating its first anniversary after opening in January last year. The hotel enjoyed an average occupancy of 72 per cent for the month of January, with a very strong Spanish and Canadian clientele.

- Devon Evans