Abia Targets $200m From Medical Tourism

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has said his administration targets about $200 million from the over $2 billion Nigerians spend annually on medical treatment abroad when its ongoing Medical City Project is completed.

The chief press secretary to the governor, Ukoha Njoku Ukoha, indicated this in a statement made available to newmen in Umuahia, the state capital, yesterday.

He said the governor revealed the plan at a summit in Lagos.

Ukoha said, “Otti made the call at Invest Lagos 3.0, the third edition of the flagship international investment summit hosted by the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in partnership with the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council.

“The summit, themed ‘Lagos: Business Gateway to Africa – Powering Africa’s Next Era of Trade, Talent and Global Economic Leadership,’ brought together investors, policymakers, and business leaders from across the world.

“Otti said that the state needed more investment in her healthcare sector, noting that the healthcare sector has consistently received 15% of the annual budget  in the last three years, only second to education that received the highest allocation of 20%.

“Today we have been rated as the most health-prepared State (SBM, 2025 Report). That’s looking at how much money we have allocated per capita on healthcare. In the last three years, we have allocated 15% of our budget to healthcare.

“We have about 277 Primary Healthcare Centers that we have refurbished, and about 135 of them have been functionalized. We’ll keep functionalizing them as we get all the materials and the healthcare professionals.

“We have hired about 800 healthcare professionals; some of them came from outside the state to work in Abia State.

We have about seven general hospitals that we are rebuilding.

‎”And, we have the tertiary hospitals – the Abia State University Teaching Hospital in Aba, the Specialist Hospital in Amachara, and the one in Umunnato.

‎”Where do we need help? We need help in our vision to build a Medical City. We have acquired 200 hectares for it. We have prepared it; we’ve built the road. But we need about 1.3 Billion dollars to put that in place,”

‎On the State Industrial and Innovation Park (AIIP) the governor said, “Another area we need investment is in the Abia Industrial and Innovation Park… The Industrial Park is in Owaza where we have oil and gas,”

‎The governor explained that he would engage more with AFREXIM Bank, whose presentation at the summit dwelt more on investment in the building and development of Industrial Parks.

‎He observed others to include the construction, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of 414 roads spanning about 864 kilometres, as well as ongoing work on 82 additional roads covering approximately 211 kilometres.

He also spoke on the ongoing transformation of the major commercial hubs in the state, including the reconstruction of Ekeoha Market and the comprehensive modernization of Ariaria International Market, alongside other strategic markets.