By Dilara Sarı
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a €75 million(US$79.38million) long-term convertible loan to Rönesans Saglik Yatirim A.S., a subsidiary of Rönesans Holding, for public-private partnership (PPP) investment in hospital infrastructure in Türkiye.
Rönesans will undertake to complete the newly acquired hospital project in their portfolio. Rönesans currently has five operational hospital projects in progress, with a combined construction area of 3.2 million m2 and a total capacity of 7,100 beds. Once all of these projects have been completed, Rönesans will reach a total capacity of 9,000 beds.
EBRD Managing Director for Türkiye, Arvid Tuerkner, welcomed the deal, commenting: “We are happy to be working with Rönesans, a longstanding partner of the EBRD, on an important cause. This project will support the company in strengthening its hospital infrastructure investments.
“In due course, it should enable Rönesans to become the country’s largest platform for the development of social infrastructure and PPPs, while enhancing the company’s financial resilience and sustainability credentials. We believe that social infrastructure is key in all economies, and Rönesans’ efforts in this field will contribute greatly to the state of such infrastructure in Türkiye.”
Most of the loan proceeds will be used to finance capital expenditure for the investments of Rönesans Saglik Yatirim, with the remainder to be used for corporate purposes.
Chairperson of the Board of Rönesans Holding, İpek Ilıcak Kayaalp, said: “We are strengthening our long-term cooperation with the EBRD within the framework of our investments in the hospital infrastructure sector. We attach great importance to investments in social reinforcement projects in Türkiye. In particular, the EBRD’s support in the hospital infrastructure sector and its trust in our company are very valuable.
“Loans such as these also enable us to broaden our focus on sustainability. We aim to keep carbon emissions to a minimum by using best-in-class efficient technologies in our new investments, including those in hospital infrastructure, industry and energy.”
All current and new hospital infrastructure investments of Rönesans will also achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, bringing additional reductions in scope 3 emissions. LEED buildings address water efficiency, energy use, materials and resources, location and transport, sustainable sites, innovation, and the environmental quality of indoor areas.
With the EBRD’s cooperation, Rönesans Saglik Yatirim will implement a comprehensive action plan to advance climate-related corporate governance and climate-risk management. Furthermore, Rönesans will pilot a set of practical guidelines on the issue of gender-based violence and harassment, in accordance with a guidance document previously commissioned by the EBRD, International Finance Corporation and the CDC Group (the former name of the United Kingdom’s development finance institution).
The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Türkiye. Since 2009, the Bank has invested over €17,2 billion in various sectors of the country’s economy, with almost all investment in the private sector. The EBRD’s €7.3 billion Türkiye portfolio is the largest among the 38 economies where the Bank invests.
