The International Finance Corporation has signed an agreement with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government to help arrange a landmark public-private partnership for the construction of a state-of-the-art hospital with up to 500 beds in Peshawar.
The new public-private partnership complements a $400 million World Bank-sponsored project aimed at strengthening the province’s healthcare system. Peshawar is the sixth largest city in Pakistan with a population of approximately 2 million and accounts for nearly a third of total hospital admissions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Peshawar’s population has increased by 52 percent over the last two decades. That has increased stress on the city’s healthcare facilities, which have been further exacerbated by the pandemic and an influx of patients from surrounding districts and neighboring Afghanistan.
As per a statement issued by IFC, under the agreement signed on Tuesday, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will support the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in structuring the PPP transaction. IFC’s team will also assist the government in running a transparent, competitive bidding process to select a private sector developer and operator for the hospital, which will deliver tertiary care.
“The new hospital is expected to serve over 150,000 people annually and will be Pakistan’s first green-field PPP in the healthcare sector. We believe it will serve as a model transaction allowing us to replicate the project for other much needed healthcare facilities,” said Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.
“This project is a monumental step towards fulfilling provincial government’s promise of increasing accessibility to quality tertiary healthcare across the province. It will demonstrate the ability of leveraging the ‘Sehat Sahulat’ card to attract private sector investment in the construction and operation of tertiary care facilities,” said Finance Minister, Taimur Khan Jhagra.
“Quality, affordable and accessible healthcare is critical for Pakistan’s economic growth and development,” said IFC Country Manager for Pakistan, Zeeshan Sheikh. “Leveraging the private sector’s capital and know-how will help spur development in this key sector, improving the quality of service for patients and providing a financially sustainable model for scaling up investment.”
The project is part of the World Bank Group’s strategy in Pakistan to support private sector development, create markets, and accelerate improvements in public service delivery.
