OREANDA-NEWS. On 22 February 2008 was announced, that IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has partnered with the Russian Federation’s Ava Peter Limited to expand private health care in Kazan and St. Petersburg. This will help improve access to high-quality medical services in both cities.

IFC will provide a loan of 305 million rubles (about $12 million) as part of a $36 million project to build a new 40-bed hospital in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan, in a public-private partnership with the Kazan municipality. The Kazan hospital will focus on mother and child health care services, including large ambulatory, diagnostic, and medical care units.

The project also includes expanding the company’s existing network of satellite primary care outpatient clinics in St. Petersburg by establishing seven additional clinics across the city. The new clinics will complement the 18-bed medical facility owned by Ava Peter’s operating partner, New Medical Center in St. Petersburg, which was partly financed by IFC in 2001 with a $2 million loan.

Dr. Ralph Ashorn, Chairman of Ava Peter Ltd., said, “We are delighted to have IFC’s and the Kazan municipality’s support in establishing high-quality maternal and child health care services in the city of Kazan. We also appreciate IFC’s help in expanding our network of clinics in St. Petersburg.  We hope this project will help meet the growing demand for medical services as well as become a standard-setter for the industry in Russia.”

Guy Ellena, IFC Director for Health and Education, said, “There is considerable growth potential in Russia’s private health sector with the growing demand for high-quality medical services at the federal and municipal level. IFC is very pleased to support one of the first public-private partnerships in the sector.”