International healthcare giant Johnson and Johnson is to invest €100 million towards the construction of a new private hospital aimed to draw medical tourism to Smart City, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced today.

The hospital, which will be called 'S. Joannes Paulus II Hospital,' is intended to become a "medical centre of excellence" for the Mediterranean and is planned to open in 2017. The investment will be made through Synesis Limited, a new Maltese-Italian company.

The new hospital will operate mainly in the field of orthopaedic with surgical and outpatient activity and employ 500 people.

Fifty of the hospital's 200 rooms will be suites and the hospital will collaborate with Maltese professionals, the university and other training institutions.

Minister Konrad Mizzi announced that the new hospital will venture to specialist fields, particularly orthopaedic and sports medicine. Genomic medicine will also be pioneered in Malta from this facility. The hospital will be collaborating with international specialists and incorporate Maltese professionals from the university and other training institutions.

Francesco Rosi, the director of the Italian and Maltese management team in charge of the project explained that the hospital will be a mono-specialistic facility covering an area of 16,000 square metres, 23,500 square metres including the grounds. The hospital will provide medical education and research and will also feature a cadaver laboratory-one of a handful in the region.

The hospital will also house the Dynamo Camp Association, a non-profit organisation that provides respite to children and teens suffering from chronic illnesses.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat noted that the investment came back to back with the agreement for the setting up of the Bart's Medical School in Gozo.

He welcomed creation of jobs and said there now had to be medium-term educational projects for young people to be prepared to work in the health sector.