Otti Boosts Nigeria’s Health Sector With N1.3bn Aba Medical City
In what has been described as a bold stride towards revolutionising healthcare in Nigeria, the Abia State Government has commenced work on a state-of-the-art Abia Medical City, $1.3bn quaternary health ecosystem expected to be the first of its kind in West Africa.
Located on a 200-hectare expanse in Mbasaa, Umuocheala community, in Isiala-Ngwa South Local Government Area, the Abia Medical City is said to be a flagship project of Governor Alex Otti, envisioned to curb medical tourism and reposition Abia as a hub of world-class healthcare delivery.
Speaking during a project site tour with the press on Saturday, the Abia State Commissioner for Health, Professor Enoch Uche, described the initiative as an “era-defining” intervention aimed at addressing the longstanding challenges in the healthcare sector while also attracting global investment, training, and employment opportunities.
“The Abia Medical City is one of the landmark projects of His Excellency, Dr. Alex Otti- a man who is intentional about multi-sectoral development. Before he even took the oath of office, he declared a state of emergency on healthcare,” Prof. Uche recalled.
According to Uche, Governor Otti’s administration became the first in Nigeria’s history to allocate 15% of the state’s total budget to the healthcare sector — a move fulfilling the Abuja Declaration of 2001, which mandates African nations to devote 15% of their budgets to health.
The healthcare reform began with the renovation of 200 out of 948 dilapidated primary healthcare centres, now nearing completion. It extended to the retrofit and re-equipping of 23 secondary healthcare centres, followed by plans for specialist hospitals in the three senatorial zones of the state.
The Abia Medical City, however, represents the apex of the administration’s health blueprint — a quaternary care hub offering the highest level of medical services, education, research, and digital integration.
The Commissioner revealed that the city is being developed under a Build-Operate-Transfer agreement with MKP International Holdings, a globally renowned engineering procurement and construction firm. The state government is contributing land and institutional goodwill, while the consortium finances and builds the infrastructure.
“This ecosystem will house a 1,000-bed ultra-modern hospital, a medical tourist city, oncology centre, fertility clinic, diagnostic hub, surgical centre, luxury apartments, and five-star hotels. There will also be dedicated centres for organ transplants, robotic surgery, cosmetic procedures, and more,” Uche stated.
The complex is also designed to accommodate AI-driven digital health technologies, including augmented reality and virtual reality for diagnostic and surgical purposes — essentially becoming Nigeria’s first Metaverse hospital.
Uche noted that while Nigeria loses an estimated $1.6 billion annually to outbound medical tourism, the Otti-led administration aims to reverse this trend by attracting both Nigerian and international patients to the Abia Medical City.
The project also integrates education and training components. It is set to serve as the apogee of medical training, with residents and students from across Nigeria, especially those from Abia State University Teaching Hospital, undergoing specialist training on-site. According to him, the government is already in talks with top universities in the United States to formalise international partnerships.
“This is not just for Abia State; it is for Nigeria and the global community. The location was strategically selected — just 35 minutes from Owerri Airport, 25 minutes from the upcoming Abia Airport, and one hour from Port Harcourt. It is two hours from major cities like Enugu, Uyo, Onitsha, and Lagos,” Uche added.
Beyond healthcare, the medical city is designed to trigger urban development in the region. It will include tourist facilities, luxury condominiums, a helipad for air ambulances, and an ecosystem of lifestyle and wellness centres.
“This will eventually lead to the rise of a new city. Estates and businesses will spring up around here, catalysing economic activity and transforming this axis of Abia State,” Uche said.
THE WHISTLER reports that evidently, the site has been cleared and an access road is being built to enable easy access to the Medical City.
According to the commissioner, the project is expected to be completed in 24 months, a timeline stakeholders say is ambitious but achievable given the calibre of partners involved.
He further assured that the Abia Medical City will house comprehensive genetic testing and DNA analysis centres, among other high-end diagnostics.
Otti Boosts Nigeria’s Health Sector With N1.3bn Aba Medical City is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
