Sabah – Türkiye’s public-private-partnership (PPP) model healthcare projects, dubbed the “city hospitals,” are to receive significant amounts of invesment in the coming years, according to Türkiye’s Minister of Health, Mehmet Muezzinoglu. Speaking at the PPP Healthcare Summit held in Istanbul, Muezzinoglu said that 32 city hospital projects would be operational by 2018.
“17 of the tendered city hospital projects will be built at a cost of USD 10 billion. The tender process is ongoing for projects in Urfa, Denizli, Kütahya, Denizli, Samsun, and Tekirdag. 10 more projects are awaiting approval,” the Minister of Health stated.
“Türkiye aims to increase the hospital bed capacity to 28 per 10,000 in population by 2018, and to 30 by 2023,” Muezzinoglu said, noting that among the country’s centenary targets was the goal of reaching 175,000 hospital beds. The investment total of the envisioned PPP projects to be realized in Türkiye’s healthcare sector is expected to hit USD 200 billion by 2023.
Also a speaker at the event, Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Türkiye (ISPAT) President Ilker Ayci highlighted the fact that PPP projects in the healthcare sector would create a bed capacity of 50,000. “The realization of these projects, worth approximately USD 500 million each, requires cooperation from banks and financial institutions. With the procedures involving financial and law advisory firms, Türkiye has amassed significant know-how in PPP healthcare projects,” Ayci noted.
Considered a regional healthcare hub, Türkiye is a fast grower in world health tourism, with plans to introduce tax-free healthcare zones specifically tailored to foreign patients.
Türkiye’s Ministry of Health intends to increase the number of medical tourists to 500,000 by 2015 and 2 million by 2023.