Turkish, Gulf firms invest in hospital

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Bülent Göktuna says his company aims to attract patients from the Middle East. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GÜREL

A leading Turkish consultancy and investment company has entered the healthcare sector by investing in Istanbul Cerrahi Hospital in cooperation with a firm from a Gulf state.

The hospital aims to attract patients from the Middle Eastern and Turkic countries who travel to the United States for medical treatment, Bülent Göktuna, the head of Mineks International, said during a press conference yesterday in Istanbul.

“Rich patients in Turkey used to have their operations in Western countries but this trend has changed,” Göktuna told reporters. “We aim to do the same for Arab countries. Now Turkish healthcare has an even better quality than European countries; we are improving the sector in quantity and also in quality.”

Mineks International has invested about $70 million in the enterprise, according to the company.
Heart and vascular surgeon Professor Dr. Melih Us and investors from an unnamed Gulf state are also part of the investment, but no details on the identity of the investors from the Gulf state were given at the party’s request.

Göktuna defined the investment as a “boutique hospital” with more qualified staff and has less bed space than usual.

Renovating the hospital will require a $10 million investment, he said, adding that the hospital’s surgery capacity would be increased from 500 to 750 in a year.

Göktuna and Us said they would continue investing in Middle Eastern countries and added that they were evaluating an offer from Arbil in northern Iraq – which has a dearth of hospitals and medical know-how, according to the Mineks head.

Mineks intends to invest in the energy and agriculture sectors in the future, he said.