The group currently operates Sunway University College under Sunway Education Group Sdn Bhd. Monash University Sunway Campus Malaysia Sdn Bhd was set up here in 1998.
Its Sunway City Bhd (SunCity) operates the 350-bed Sunway Medical Centre (SMC).
Sources said the group plans to expand the outdoor car park next to the SMC to accommodate a 700-bed teaching hospital.
There are some 2.7ha available on which to build the new hospital. The site is understood to be the last piece of land left for the hospital expansion. Together with the new facility, the hospital will take up 5.27ha.
When contacted by Business Times to confirm the university hospital plans, Sunway founder and chairman Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah said: "We are still discussing and it is being studied."
It is understood that the hospital may have a cancer centre and construction could start later this year. It will be ready in phases and is scheduled for completion in 2015.
Industry sources estimate that the cost of construction and equipment could be in the region of RM1 million per bed. If it has a research facility, the total investment may even be in the region of RM1 billion.
Funding for the hospital project may pose a challenge for the group as teaching hospitals are normally funded by the government.
It is unclear if the new hospital will come under the education arm or be part of SunCity.
Last year, the SMC opened a new wing. It spent RM100 million on the building and another RM50 million on equipment.
With the opening, the number of beds has increased to 350 from 200 previously. It has also doubled its operating theatres to 12, while its clinics have increased to 90 from 60 before.
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