The Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a loan agreement totaling $8.39 million for a Public Private Partnership (PPP) healthcare services project in Uzbekistan on December 19, 2022, through the “Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund” (LEAP) provided by JICA. On December 19, 2022, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a loan agreement totaling $8.39 million for a Public Private Partnership (PPP) healthcare services project in Uzbekistan through JICA’s “Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund” (LEAP).
The project will provide long-term financing for the construction, operation, and maintenance of four dialysis treatment centers in Tashkent, Karakalpakstan, and Khorezm, Uzbekistan, and will be the first international PPP project in the healthcare sector in the country. The ADB loan includes a LEAP loan of $3.36 million. The project is sponsored by Nephrocare Health Services Private Limited, one of the largest dialysis treatment services companies in Asia.
While there are approximately 30,000 patients suffering from chronic kidney disease in Uzbekistan, the system for providing dialysis treatment is not sufficient, and there is a shortage of approximately 3,500 dialysis machines. This project will provide dialysis treatment to 1,100 patients through four dialysis centers, and is expected to contribute to alleviating the shortage of medical services in the country’s healthcare sector by mobilizing the private sector. The project also plans to develop a gender action plan and encourage the participation of female health care workers in dialysis treatment through training and ensuring a work environment.
LEAP is a trust fund for high-quality private sector infrastructure projects in Asia and the Pacific region, which is mentioned in the follow-up measures to the “High-Quality Infrastructure Partnership” announced by the Japanese government on November 21, 2015. It is a trust fund that provides support for infrastructure projects implemented by the private sector through public-private partnerships (PPPs) and other forms of financing. In March 2016, JICA committed to invest US$1.5 billion in LEAP, which supports a wide range of high-quality, sustainable private sector infrastructure projects in ADB member countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including greenhouse gas reduction, energy conservation, and affordable health services. energy conservation, and affordable health care services.
JICA will continue to work with other countries and international organizations to promote “high-quality infrastructure investment” and contribute to the economic and social development of developing countries and regions, taking into account the SDGs.
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