The companies realizing successful projects at the city hospitals, considered as the beginning of a new era in healthcare, plan to open to the world. “The Ministry of Health is talking with the countries like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Qatar. We are following closely” Akfen Construction Chairman Selim Akın tells.

THE MOST FAVORITE investment of Turkey’s conglomerates in recent years has been ‘city hospitals’. The attention is turned now to the foreign countries following the success of PPP (Public Private Partnership) project based on a model in which the public investment is made by the private sector and leased to the state for a period of 25 years. Akfen Construction, finishing the Isparta City Hospital in just 12 months and 12 days which is a quite short period for such a project, with an investment of 1 billion 150 million liras and inaugurating it on 24th March 2017, continues to invest in Eskişehir and Tekirdağ. We talked with Selim Akın, Chairman of Akfen Construction, in the follow up of the tender courses of the new city hospitals as well, about the steps taken in this area and their plans:

Why did Akfen Construction choose to be engaged in the course of city hospitals? The hospital investments develop with build-operate-lease system. We are involved as investor in this course. The related investments enhance our investor identity. We’ll continue to be present in this segment. We are given the top usage right for 25 years. The Ministry has a vision. Each year, they allocate some budget to renovate these hospitals. “I don’t want to make this spending any more. I can use this budget only for rent after 25 years. And I can close the remaining deficit with the revolving capital” they think. In general sense, that’s right. There will be no need any more for the renovation of the hospitals because we’ll be in charge of it.

Which city hospitals did you invest in? What will be the total investment amount?

As Akfen Construction, we have been in charge of the investments for the projects of Isparta, Eskişehir and Tekirdağ City Hospitals until now, based on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. We planned an investment of 3,9 billion liras for 3 city hospitals with a total capacity of 2 thousand 316 beds. We inaugurated the Isparta City Hospital last march and delivered to the Ministry of Health. This hospital, opened on March 2017, is one of the first city hospitals built rapidly in Turkey.

The construction of Eskişehir City Hospital began in 2016; this hospital will take place among the leading hospitals in its region, provided with the world-scale high tech medical equipment and with a usage area spreading over 333 thousand sqm, including a total capacity of 1081 beds consisting of the Main Hospital with 981 beds and Psychiatry Hospital with High Security provided with 100 beds, 264 outpatient clinics, 36 surgery rooms. We plan to finish the Eskişehir City Hospital by the end of 2017 and to deliver to the Ministry of Health. And the Tekirdağ City Hospital spreading over a usage area of 169 thousand sqm, will be built with a total capacity of 480 beds including 369 beds in the general hospital, 64 beds in the intensive care, 32 beds in the newborn intensive care, 8 beds in the prisoner unit, 2 beds in the burn service unit, 5 in the delivery room and 12 surgery rooms. The project will be finished in 2018.

How long will the Ministry of Health remain the tenant at the hospitals? What kind of duties do you have out of the hospital?

The Ministry of Health is the tenant at the hospitals, with public hospital status, where it offers ‘free’ healthcare service to the citizens. The healthcare staff too is under the responsibility of the Ministry of Health. We opened the Isparta City Hospital. At the facility, we provide the services like IT, security, cleaning, cafeteria and car parking which are out of the scope of the healthcare staff. We should offer different standards as the regulations of the hospitals require. For example, you take the patient’s meal from the kitchen; this meal at 23 degrees should maintain the same temperature until served to the patient. Therefore, we carry it in the specially heated trolleys. Everything has a different knife and fork. At the security too, babies cannot go from one area to another without the permission of their mothers. We are obliged to provide all these notions. The Ministry is the control authority for this organization. If the standards are not met, penal sanctions are applied. Therefore, we are sensitive for these issues.

How many persons will be employed through these investments? What do you expect to change in the healthcare with the urban hospitalization?

We created job opportunities to 940 persons at the Isparta City Hospital. We target to reach similar figures at the other hospitals too. Works are done to attract patients from abroad within the scope of health tourism as well. The healthcare staff should be high quality so that our hospitals can be preferred over the hospitals in London. In our hospitals, we provide guidance in foreign languages. All these notions are taken into account in these hospitals.

Are you interested with the city hospital projects abroad? In which countries do you see opportunities?

TAV Construction is concentrated on the airport construction and contracting business. I think about taking our know-how in this business to the foreign countries and we are working in this regard. The Ministry of Health is in touch with the countries like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Qatar. We are following them closely. We built a solid background in recent years. And the ministry is working to open it abroad.

WE WILL INVEST ANOTHER 2,7 BILLION LIRAS

In which regions, new city hospital tenders will be held next?

The offer period is still open for the city hospitals in Samsun and Denizli. Besides them, we know that the tenders of Izmir, Aydın, Antalya and Diyarbakır City Hospitals with a total capacity of 3 thousand 900 beds will come next.

How much do you plan to invest to the city hospitals?

We completed the Isparta City Hospital with an investment of 1 billion 150 billion liras. Isparta is one of the projects tendered late but we opened the hospital to the service in a very short period of 12 months 12 days. We will invest 2 billion 750 liras additionally to the hospitals in Eskişehir and Tekirdağ. This model can be applied to the schools and prisons too in the future. With the public-private partnership model, the old investments too possessed by the public can be renovated. The total investment amount will be clear according to the following tenders.