MONTEGO BAY, St James — Prime Minister Andrew Holness is confident that the recently opened GWest Centre here has inched Jamaica closer to exploit the lucrative medical tourism market.

“In addition to the local persons being targeted, the global growth in the flow of patients, health professionals and medical technology across national borders has made medical tourism a thriving sector. Jamaica is ideally poised for this growing market, which was valued approximately US$20 billion in 2016 and is estimated to reach approximately US$47 billion by 2021,” the prime minister noted.

“What GWest has done here has put the country in an ideal position to capitalise on that market. In short, this is a shopping mall for medical services and in a quality internationally accredited environment.”

He was speaking at the official opening of GWest Centre in Fairview, Montego Bay, Thursday evening.

Meanwhile, chairman and managing director of GWest Corporation, Dr Konrad Kirlew, disclosed that the 62,000-square-foot multi-purpose building, which comprises four levels, will be going public on the Junior Market shortly.

He noted that the offer is being arranged by JMMB Securities and will give the public a chance to own a piece of “this growing company”.

“The capital to be raised from the stock market will be applied towards the build-out of phase two of the complex,” Dr Kirlew revealed. “We will also be adding a surgery and eight-bed overnight centre that will come on stream next year.”

Prime Minister Holness lauded GWest for the move.

“I am pleased to note that GWest is not only intending, GWest has started the process of being listed in short order on the junior stock exchange. I think that’s a very good business decision,” the prime minister stated.

“After you have built a facility like this it makes good business sense to seek to share the ownership…to disperse the ownership in the population. And the best route to achieve that is through the junior stock exchange. I would encourage all Jamaicans to own a piece of GWest.”

The GWest Centre was established by a group of Jamaican medical and business professionals. It is housed in a modern multi-purpose commercial complex and provides a wide range of high-quality medical services in the same location.

Already the building houses the second location of Kirlew’s Radiology West imaging practice, Dr Doon Quah’s Facial and Oral Surgery Associates, Zierlich International Dialysis Centre operated by UK-trained dialysis practitioner and Jamaican businesswoman Dainty Powell, the Heart Smart Centre operated by cardiologist Dr Claudine Lewis, the GWest General Medical Practice suite for resident and visiting doctors, and North Coast Imaging offering MRI services.

It also offers non-medical office space and Bull Investments and an insurance brokerage, among other service providers.