A project in Auburn to attract Chinese medical tourists is almost certainly over due to a lack of interest from investors and legislation.
A medical tourism project in Auburn has almost certainly ended. The 2015 plan to build a 5-star medical recovery centre had much publicity but lacks investors, federal government approval or hospital partners. A crack down on tourism, particularly Chinese birth tourism, by President Trump, was the final straw.
A Chinese investment company-Miracle Enterprise, targeted wealthy Chinese tourists and planned to open in 2017.
Local hospital Central Maine Medical Centre had been touted as medical partner, but has not heard from the Chinese company after the initial press release.
Auburn city was ready to create infrastructure to support the 200-room medical recovery centre but nothing has happened and local enthusiasm has faded into silence that nobody seems to have checked on the proposers who needed outside investors as they seem to lack cash of their own.
Locals have passed the buck to the state by saying that the promoters claimed that delays were due to state approval of the project as an EB-5 regional centre before anything can become locally.
Only approval of Auburn as an EB-5 regional centre would allow foreign investors to fast-track through the immigration process and only then if they invest at least a half million dollars into a project that creates at least 10 jobs. If approved, the state could apply the programme to the medical tourism project and others.
Tax rules and immigration rules are all part of a review by the Trump administration and this has made overseas investors wary.
The plan was to attract rich Chinese patients seeking American medical treatments at CMMC and recuperating at the health and wellness centre, a former shoe factory. It was expected to attract 5000 visitors a year.
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