Pakistan’s free kidney hospital acquires four-star hotel in Karachi to expand services

In this photo, shared by Pakistan’s former federal minister Ali Haider Zaidi on July 7, 2024, workers install the hospital signage of SIUT (Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation) Trust Hospital on a building façade in Karachi on July 6, 2024. SIUT has acquired a four-star Pakistani hotel, Regent Plaza, to expand its free-of-cost services, an SIUT trustee said on Sunday. (Photo courtesy: X/@AliHZaidiPTI)

• Trustee Shabbar Zaidi says SIUT will add 1,000 beds for patients after the acquisition of Regent Plaza hotel
• The building, a landmark located on the city’s main thoroughfare, will provide easy access to patients, he adds

KARACHI: The Sindh Institute of Urology & Transplantation (SIUT) has acquired Regent Plaza, a four-star hotel in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, to convert it into a health care facility to expand its free-of-cost services for patients, an SIUT trustee said on Sunday.
Founded by philanthropist and distinguished surgeon Dr. Syed Adibul Hasan Rizvi, SIUT stands as Pakistan’s foremost center for treatment of kidney-related diseases, providing free services such as dialysis and transplantation to patients who come from across the country.
Originally established as the urology department of Karachi’s Civil Hospital in 1970, SIUT attained autonomous status in 1991. The institute presently conducts up to 12 transplants weekly and achieved a milestone in 2003 by performing Pakistan’s inaugural liver transplant.
The Regent Plaza hotel occupies a prime location on the city’s main thoroughfare, Shahrah-e-Faisal, spanning an area of 13,200 square yards with a total covered area of 47,034 square yards. Last October, the hotel management informed investors of SIUT’s Rs14.5 billion offer to purchase it and on Saturday, the hotel’s face board was replaced with that of SUIT’s.
“With this new facility, we will add 1,000 beds to SIUT and this branch will offer all services,” Syed Shabbar Zaidi, an SIUT trustee, told Arab News on Sunday, emphasizing that acquiring a space on Shahrah-e-Faisal will provide easier access to patients.
The building, according to Regent Plaza official website, has 440 luxurious guest rooms, including presidential, executive and business suites, besides various other categories of rooms.
Asked about potential traffic snarl-ups due to the hotel’s conversion into a hospital, Zaidi said they would provide an alternate entrance to ensure a smooth flow of traffic on Shahrah-e-Faisal, a signal-free thoroughfare that connects the Karachi airport with the city’s main business hub and is frequented by hundreds of thousands of people daily.
“We will establish an entrance from another direction, eliminating any traffic disruptions,” he said.
The SIUT trustee emphasized that the hotel’s building was an ideal space and acquiring it would be highly beneficial for patients.
“With increased capacity, we will accommodate more patients while ensuring easily accessible facilities,” he added.