Ushering in a new vision for the use of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model in Türkiye, the Istanbul İkitelli City Hospital Project is set to be the largest of its kind in the world, making Istanbul a health tourism hub once it becomes fully operational. As per the investment plans, the Istanbul İkitelli City Hospital Project – slated for completion in 36 months – will boast 9 hospitals serving 29,000 patients on a daily basis with 2,682 total beds and 10,000 personnel.
During his address at the signing ceremony, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stressed that the USD 1.5 billion financing agreement signed with eight international investors – namely JBIC, NEXI, SMBC, BTMU, Nippon Life Insurance Company, Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, the Iyo Bank, and Standard Chartered – for the Istanbul İkitelli City Hospital Project, a joint investment of Türkiye’s Rönesans Health Investment and Japan’s Sojitz, speaks to Türkiye’s international credibility. Erdoğan was quick to point out that Sojitz executives visited Ankara to hold talks with Rönesans Health Investment on the agreement just a week after the failed coup in 2016. He extended his deepest gratitude to the Japanese investment community for their confidence in and support of Türkiye and its economy.
Erdoğan also reminded investors that Türkiye has taken numerous precautions to ensure that temporary setbacks do not spill over and harm its strong economy. All international investments in Türkiye are under state protection and all reforms and incentives introduced by the Turkish government are available to be utilized by investors. He emphasized that there are no obstacles barring them from expanding their investments in the country. “The doors of Türkiye are wide open to all international investors,” Erdoğan concluded.
Initial steps concerning the City Hospitals masterplan were taken in 2005, with a focus on removing barriers to investment. After years of reforms and the introduction of new regulations, deals were inked for the first batch of 15 hospitals in 2013. The list of inaugurated projects to-date includes the Yozgat, Mersin, and Isparta City Hospitals, while the Kayseri, Adana, Ankara Bilkent, and Manisa City Hospitals are expected to become operational in late-2017. 2019 will see the Eskişehir, Elazığ, and Konya Karatay City Hospitals come online. As the remainder of the projects are being commissioned, the total number of projects will hit 31, with 28 of them being city hospitals. Having a combined bed capacity of 42,000, the projects will pave the way for the leveraging of healthcare service standards not only in Türkiye and but also on a global scale.