EBRD arranges funding for US$ 1.25 billion Turkish hospital

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has arranged financing for the development of a € 1.12 billion (US$ 1.25 billion) hospital in Etlik, a suburb of the Turkish capital Ankara.

The hospital campus will be designed, built, equipped and managed under a public private partnership (PPP) model by Ankara Etlik Hastane Saglık Hizmetleri İşletme Yatırım (Ankara Etlik Health Investment). This private development company is a joint venture between Italian contractor Astaldi and Turkish counterpart Türkerler.

The project comprises 11 hospital buildings with 3,566 beds. Under a 27.5-year concession, the buildings will be leased to Turkey’s Ministry of Health. The private developer will act as facilities manager, providing building maintenance and non-clinical services, while medical services will remain the remit of the Ministry of Health.

The financing consortium comprises 11 different local and international banks. The EBRD has made the largest commitment of these with a loan of € 125 million (US$ 140 million).

According to the EBRD, the Etlik hospital is the largest project to be financed to date under the Turkish government’s €12 billion programme to build or expand about 60 hospitals across the country in collaboration with the private sector.

Mehmet Müezzinoğlu, the Turkish minister of health, said, “We decided to undertake the biggest transformation in health care. The Ankara Etlik Integrated Health Campus will be one of the world’s largest health complexes in terms of bed numbers. Along with its modern architecture and social use areas, the campus is being built, and will operate, using environmentally friendly practices.”

James Hyslop, EBRD director for municipal and environmental infrastructure, added, “We are proud to have brought together international financial institutions and local and international commercial banks in the largest financing package for a hospital PPP project in Turkey to date. This sends a strong signal about the opportunities available on the Turkish market and about investors’ confidence for long-term engagement in the country.”