European bank finances new hospital in Turkish city of Gaziantep

ISTANBUL

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has said it is providing an 80 million euro loan to the construction of a new high-tech hospital in Gaziantep, the major city of south-eastern Turkey, in a statement. 

With a population of close to 2 million people, Gaziantep is one of Turkey’s oldest cities and among its most populous. It has recently seen a sharp increase in population, partly due to the influx of refugees from neighboring Syria. Rapid population growth is putting a serious strain on healthcare services.

Refugees in Turkey have access to the same cost-free medical treatment in public hospitals as local citizens, regardless of insurance coverage available to them, and so are expected to benefit equally from the new hospital. 

The new 600 million euro health campus will be built and maintained by major South Korean investors while Turkey’s Ministry of Health will provide medical services under a public-partnership model, according to the statement, which was released on June 19. 

The project is part of the government program to build or expand hospitals across the country in collaboration with the private sector, read the statement. 

The new Gaziantep hospital, scheduled to begin operations by 2020, will have a total capacity of 1,875 beds and consist of a general hospital, a women and children’s hospital and a cardiovascular and oncology hospital, it added. 

It will also house a diagnostic and treatment center, health support facilities and a heliport.

Investors in the project include South Korea’s Samsung C&T Corporation, Italian industrial group Salini Impregilo S.p.A, Turkish industrial construction company Kayı İnşaat Sanayii ve Ticaret A.Ş., and Korea-Turkey Gaziantep Healthcare Private Equity Investment Fund (PEIF).

Among the investors in the Korea-Turkey Gaziantep Healthcare PEIF, are large institutional investors such as Samsung Life Insurance Co., Ltd., the largest insurance company in Korea and the Korea Development Bank, according to the statement. 

A mix of multilaterals, export credit agencies and commercial banks are providing a debt package of around 480 million euro with an 18-year tenor.

In addition to the EBRD’s 80 million euro loan, the European Investment Bank is supporting the project with 120 million euros. The investment also has the involvement of South Korea’s two export credit agencies: Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) and K-sure. The former is providing a 72 million euro loan as well as a 70 million euro guarantee to the Korean financial institutions NH Bank, KEB Hana Bank and Samsung Life Insurance, and the latter is contributing with a 142 million euro guaranteed loan. 

MIGA, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing guarantees covering equity investments worth 60 million euros.