IFC to loan $172 million to fund huge hospital plan in Turkey

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has announced on Thursday that it has agreed to loan $172 million to fund the building of the world's biggest healthcare facility to be located in Turkey.

The new campus, which will house eight hospitals with a total of almost 2,500 beds, is part of a health program to improve the country's public hospital infrastructure through the public-private partnership model (PPP).

"This landmark project is an important milestone in the transformation of Turkey's healthcare sector, being the largest health campus in the world," Serhat İnanç, CEO of Ankara Etlik Hastane Sağlık Hizmetleri İşletme Yatırım A.Ş, a company established by the consortium to build and maintain the health campus, said.

"The funding structure indicates increasing confidence among various types of lenders in the PPP model of the Ministry of Health and the consortium partners," İnanç added.

"Expanding access to high-quality healthcare services for all population groups is a central element of our strategy in Turkey," Aisha Williams, IFC country manager for Turkey, said.

"This is an excellent example of how the private and public sector can work together to make a difference. We hope this will set a positive example for PPPs in other sectors in Turkey."