The medical complex will occupy the first four floors of the 33-storey Nusasiri Grand Condo Sukhumvit-Ekamai, near Ekamai Skytrain station. The complex covers 12,000 square metres, of which 7,000 square metres are commercial areas for 60 shops: 65 per cent for medical supplies and 35 per cent for general retail.

He said Nusasiri initially wanted to operate the project on its own but that the Vanachai Group saw the business potential and became a partner with a 65-per-cent stake.

The whole project required Bt1-billion investment, of which 70 per cent was spent for additional construction and decoration. Niwat did not give exact figures for expected revenues in the first year or when the project would reach the break-even point. Rental fees range from Bt800 to Bt1,300 per square metre and freehold from Bt140,000 to Bt165,000 per square metre.

So far, 30 per cent of the rental space has already been reserved. Clinics will include plastic surgery, dental, skin and laser, cardiology, dialysis and gastro-enterology.

He said opening the medical complex in Bangkok would create new consumer behaviour, because this model had long been existing in developed countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, the US and the UK.

Niwat said that currently, people visited hospitals only when they needed serious medical treatment and clinics for non-serious treatment.

To develop new consumer behaviour here, the company plans to promote the benefits of visiting the medical complex among its target group of wealthy local and foreign consumers, both in Thailand and abroad. One strategy will be to promote the names of renowned doctors working in the complex.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation