RIYADH, 9 September 2007 — With financial aid from Saudi Arabia, New Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMIU) will soon have an ultra-modern multimillion riyal medical center, to be named after Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, for which a foundation laying ceremony was organized at the JMIU campus on Friday.
The foundation stone was laid by Saudi Ambassador to India Saleh Muhammad Al-Ghamdi. “The keen desire of the Kingdom’s leadership to forge closer relations with India is reflected in this small initiative to set up a premier health center in New Delhi,” said Ambassador Al-Ghamdi in a telephone interview from New Delhi yesterday.
“This project is a simple expression of our friendship and deep-rooted ties,” he added. The center will be built over the next 12 months on the JMIU campus’ northern boundary in Okhla.
The center will be spread over three floors on a 120,000 square feet area. The hospital will have wards with 20 beds, a mini-operation theater, multispecialty treatment rooms, a rehabilitation center, X-ray rooms, an emergency first aid room, a pharmacy, a dining room and a lounge for medical staff. The Saudi Embassy has already made some funds available to kick off the project.
“While JMIU, like every other university, already has a small medical unit, the proposed health facility will not only reach out to the staff and students but also function as a public utility unit,” said professor Mushirul Hasan, JMIU’s vice chancellor, speaking on the occasion. He said that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed earlier between the JMIU and the Saudi Embassy.
According to the terms of the MOU, the Saudi Embassy will provide funds for the construction of the King Abdullah Medical Center in four phases. Noted architect Romi Khosla has been entrusted with the task of designing the building. He has already roped in India’s Central Public Works Department (CPWD) for construction. According to a press statement, the King Abdullah Medical Center will be a demonstration of the friendship between the two nations.
“It will demonstrate the fact that not only private hospitals can be state-of-the-art but also buildings built by public institutions,” said the statement.
The initiative to build the medical center came following King Abdullah’s state visit to India in 2005.
“Since then, both sides were talking to each other, especially during the last few months,” said the press statement. The JMIU’s existing health center had become too small.
This new medical center project is in addition to another financial pledge given by King Abdullah to construct a building that will be both a library and research center. King Abdullah was awarded an honorary doctorate by the JMIU during his visit to India for his contribution to regional and international peace and development, and for his efforts to promote Saudi-Indian ties. On the political and commercial front, Riyadh and New Delhi have forged close relations. More than 1.6 million Indian expatriates live and work in the Kingdom.
