Maputo, Mozambique, 23 July – A company from Mozambique is joining forces with a South African partner to build a private hospital in Maputo, company sources have said.

Isidoro Faztudo, CEO of Hospital Privado de Maputo (HPM), said Thursday that the US$ 16 million project was a joint venture between Lenmed Health of South Africa, with a 60 percent shareholding, and Invalco of Mozambique, holding the remaining 40 percent stake.

The project, added Faztudo, has already been given the go-ahead by the Mozambican government and now awaits approval from Maputo City Hall. The new hospital is expected to be operational 18 months after its construction gets underway.

HPM’s CEO said the new hospital, unlike many existing clinics in the capital, would provide across-the-board treatment and not have to send patients for tests and clinical examinations at other health centers.

The new hospital will have surgical, orthopedic, obstetric, pediatric and gynecological departments, with its own maternity, ICU, pharmacy and mortuary.

It will offer treatment of an “international standard” and is aimed to cater for foreigners, particularly from South Africa, said Faztudo, adding that negotiations are in course for the facility to have a medical or nursing school.

The South African health firm involved in the new hospital began operating as a clinic in Johannesburg in 1980 and is currently one of the main healthcare provides in South Africa, with five hospitals. (macauhub)