The Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, yesterday flagged off the construction of a 300-bed Enugu International Hospital.

He said the hospital would make the state the hub of medical tourism in West Africa and help to reduce medical tourism.

The governor said Enugu was targeting a substantial share of the overseas medical tourism market estimated to be over $1 billion annually.

“The Enugu International Hospital is going to be equipped with the state-of-the art facilities and we intend to attract top-notch professionals. We intend to work with our sons and daughters overseas who are interested in coming to express their professionalism on our soil,” Mbah said.

The Commissioner for Health, Ikechukwu Obi, said the hospital would offer different medical services including general medicine, emergency department, surgical services, obstetrics and gynaecology, intensive care unit, cardiology, oncology, neurology, radiology and imaging.