Public Private Partnership-PPP Project which brings the experience of the public sector and the financial capability and dynamism of the private sector together is aiming to make Turkey to have a more qualified health infrastructure. SELIM AKIN, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF AKFEN CONSTRUCTION AND TOURISM, TOLD THAT "CITY HOSPITAL PROJECTS ARE OF VITAL IMPORTANCE IN TERMS OF IMPROVING THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF HEALTH SECTOR IN TURKEY". Public Private Partnership – PPP project, which is one of the biggest moves of Turkey realized in the health field, is rapidly progressing. Many city hospitals, which their investments have been initiated within the scope of the project, are planned to be put into service as of 14th of March 2017, National Medicine Day. Within the scope of the project, which is announced by the Ministry of Health, it is targeted to raise the standards in health services, and the construction of the hospitals are being carried out by contractor companies. The Ministry of Health will be paying rent to the contractors for 25 years. The support for medical services of the private sector is given by the State, the whole doctor and nurse staff is also provided by the state. PPP projects usually cover a period of 15-30 years when the equivalent projects are examined throughout the world. While in Turkey, city hospitals will be delivered to State after an operation period of 25 years. According to the data of the Ministry of Health, there are 18 projects whose tenders have been finalized throughout the country. There are 5 more hospital projects which are at the contract phase within this model a great number of companies take part through large investments such as Rönesans Construction, YDA Group, Türkerler Holding, Akfen, Astaldi and Dia Holding. In this way, it is planned to add 10 thousand bed capacities to the city hospitals currently having 30 thousand bed capacity. We will see the first examples in 2017 considered as one of the most important and visionary projects in Turkey in the field of health. “A UNIQUE PROJECT IN THE WORLD” According to the statement of the Ministry of Health, the total bed capacity of 253 hospitals built by the Ministry is 40 thousand. When the city hospitals will be completed, this bed capacity will reach 70 thousand. The additional bed capacities of the hospitals, which their tenders will be made this year within the PPP project covering the years of 2016, 2017 and 2018 at the latest will be 25 thousand. Hospitals having a bed capacity of 95 thousand will be put into service for the public. Among these, 40 thousand will be built through public-private sector partnership and 55 thousand through the resources of the public sector. Regardless of its geographic location and economic power, there is no other country making a 95 thousand bed-capacity hospital investment throughout the world. At this point, Turkey is aiming to actualize a significant vision and is willing to become a strong country providing health services not for only its own citizens, but also for 1-1.5 billion people in the region. THREE HOSPITALS FROM AKFEN Within the scope of the project, Akfen Construction has undertaken the investments of Isparta City Hospital, Eskişehir City Hospital and Tekirdağ City Hospital projects as of May 2016. Selim Akın, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Akfen Construction and Tourism, told that they are getting prepared to put totally 2 thousand 313 bed capacity (app. 1 billion dollars of investment for 3 projects) into service for the public and said “The construction of Isparta City Hospital is ongoing and we are planning to complete the construction and transfer it to the Ministry this autumn. We are planning to complete the construction of Eskişehir City Hospital by the end of 2017. We will start Tekirdağ City Hospital project within this year”. Akın told that city hospital projects are of vital importance in terms of improving the infrastructure of health sector in Turkey and said “When these projects are completed, health services in our country will be provided under more modern conditions, because the equipment and technological infrastructure of the whole projects will be considerably high”. First of all, the construction of Isparta Regional Health Campus (263 million 900 thousand dollars of investment value) is planned to be completed. The aim is to make the Campus one of the leading health facilities within the region in the upcoming autumn season with its totally 762 bed capacity, 222,571m² construction area including a General Hospital with 443 beds, Maternity and Children’s Hospital with 319 beds, 167 Polyclinics and 19 Surgery Rooms and high-technology medical equipment at world standards. Selim Akın emphasized that they will be put very modern city hospitals in terms of bed capacities, technological opportunities and infrastructural features into service for the public as totally three projects including Isparta Regional Health Campus will be transferred to the Ministry of Health and said: “We also predict that they will create significant opportunities both in the health field and also in the province and region that they are located regarding access to business opportunities as they will be the biggest health complexes of that province and region. In this way, a significant contribution will be made in the economic development of the current provinces.” APPROXIMATELY 8 THOUSAND BED CAPACITY WILL BE PUT INTO USE IN 2017 Between 7 thousand 5 hundred and 8 thousand bed capacity is planned to be put into use in 2017 as all the contractor companies will start to put their PPP projects into operation one by one. Mersin, Isparta, Yozgat, Ankara and Adana city hospitals, whose opening dates will reach 14th of March, National Medicine Day, will be the first examples of putting hospital projects with high technological infrastructure and equipment with the support of the private sector into the use of the public and modernization of the infrastructure of the health sector. In addition, the aim is to make Turkey one of the leader countries in the world in the health agenda and to make significant contributions on the health vision and brand value of Turkey in the field of health through this transformation.