The facility aims to be a centre of excellence for health care for those aged 65 and over.

Dubai has huge potential as a world class centre for medical tourism, according to a new report that pits it against other major global cities.

The demand for healthcare services has more than matched population growth for a decade, reveals the Hub Report from property consultants Knight Frank.

Even so, Dubai still ranks at the low end of a league table that compares eight leading medical tourism destinations in terms the number of hospital beds for every 1,000 people.

France, the leader, has six times the number of hospital beds for its population compared to Dubai, while Hong Kong has five and Australia nearly three.

Dubai now has two beds for every thousand of the population, an increase of nearly 14 per cent since 2012, thanks to the support of the Government in “creating an investor friendly environment”, Knight Frank concludes.

It adds: “Comparing Dubai in terms of number of beds…we see that there is significant potential for growth in the healthcare centre.”

Dubai enters the ranks of the top cities in the world, joining Abu Dhabi and Riyadh on the global list.

The economic diversification drive initiated by the GCC governments has started to bear fruit, as Dubai enters the ranks of the top cities in the world, joining Abu Dhabi and Riyadh on the global list.

According to a latest report, Dubai has the world's second highest number of physicians per 10,000 population, just following Germany that has the highest number.

According to the Dubai Health Authority's (DHA) annual statistical book for 2016, though the overall number for the UAE stands at 25.3 physicians per 10,000 people, Dubai's alone stands at 33.5 as compared to Germany's at 38.9.