Istanbul hosts medical executives to promote healthcare PPPs ‘worth $5B’
Istanbul will host the annual PPP Healthcare Summit for the third time this week. Health ministers from several countries as well as many health professionals from the public and private sectors will meet on Oct. 24-25 to exchange experiences and ideas on financing and running hospitals – the concepts for this year’s event. One of the organizing companies is PPP Experts. Speaking to DUNYA Executive before the event, PPP Experts Chief Executive Sadak Choudhury hoped the two-day summit would serve to facilitate those involved to develop PPP projects worth almost $5 billion.
Reiterating the Turkish Ministry of Health’s latest announcement of a second round of major new hospital projects worth around $1.2 billion, Choudhury said that PPP Experts expects the total size of the next round of tenders to equate to around $4.9 billion, which is the largest PPP healthcare program in the world. “There is a real economic drive to not only improve the healthcare sector in Turkey, but also encourage medical tourism from abroad to support the country’s wider economic development,” he said.
Bringing more than 15 years of commercial and management consultancy experience to the advisory mandates, Choudhury assists regional and national governments to develop PPP programs to facilitate private sector investment across Asia, Europe and Africa.
“It is important that international investors participate in these new projects in order for them to be realized according to the Ministry of Health schedule and really drive the initiative for-
ward,” said Choudhury, adding that the 3rd PPP Healthcare Summit is designed to support that ambition. “We hope over the next few days, that our partners and investors do business to bring these projects to fruition.”
‘A successful PPP program’
New health projects on the table include the 1,200-bed Izmir Yenisehir, a 1,000-bed medical facility in Antalya, a 750-bed hospital in Diyarbakir, one of 800 beds in Aydin, a 4,200-bed hospital in Istanbul Sancaktepe, a 900-bed facility in Ordu and the 1,100bed Trabzon City Hospital. The objective of the event is to highlight and promote these projects locally and internationally. “We also want to demonstrate the successful strategy and PPP program that Turkey is delivering in meeting the healthcare challenges of the 21st century,” he said, noting that a number of leading investors are participating at the summit to seek busi-
ness opportunities and support the wider Turkish economy.
According to Choudhury, this year’s summit has attracted more than 200 participants from across 23 countries. They will be attending the event to hear first hand about existing and future healthcare projects in Turkey and abroad. In addition, there will be senior representatives from several ministries including the UAE, Jamaica, Nigeria, India and Bangladesh as confirmed speakers and panelists. This year’s event has also received endorsements from the Investment Support and Promotion Agency (ISPAT), Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), British Embassy, American Chamber, and Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (MUSIAD). In addition, companies like
Ronesans, Meridiam, Akfen, CCN Holding, Kayi and Turkish Airlines remained among the event’s supporters.
Currently active in more than 10 countries, PPP Experts advises various line ministries and private sector companies on infrastructure projects including healthcare, education, transportation, energy and economic development. Along with their local partner in Turkey, Elmadag Hukuk, the company is engaged in advisory work to public and private sector companies. As part of its growth strategy, the company also delivers PPP training and events.
In addition, PPP has recently launched a new mobile lifestyle application in Turkey called Kuponsa (www.kuponsa.com), which offers over 1,000 “buy one, get one free” deals at restaurants, activities, spas and hotels in one app. “We will shortly be expanding to other major countries but we decided to launch in Istanbul because of the international flavor of the city and the demographics present a strong business case to support our plans,” said Choudhury.