The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a EUR 205 million loan for the construction and equipping of a new general hospital in Toledo, the capital of Spain's Castilla-La Mancha region. This is the EIB's biggest-ever loan for a hospital project in Spain.
The finance contract was signed today in Toledo by EIB President Philippe Maystadt and Castilla-La Mancha's Finance Minister, Maria Luisa Araujo Chamorro.
The new hospital forms part of the region's 2001-2010 health plan and will make it possible to provide high quality healthcare and clinical training services in the province Toledo, one of Castilla-La Mancha's eight healthcare areas. With a capacity of over 1 000 beds and 36 operating theatres, the new hospital will comprise 11 buildings that replace the three obsolete healthcare centres currently constituting the Toledo Hospital.
Located in an expanding urban area, the project (covering 364 000 m2) will contribute to the regeneration of Toledo and foster the economic and environmental development of an EU Objective 1 region.
This EIB loan will have a term of up to 30 years and cover around 40% of the total investment cost. The EIB's participation in this project will further the EU's human capital improvement policy by upgrading healthcare facilities and promoting clinical training and research in cooperation with the university's R&D programme and other institutions. The Bank has been involved in the project from the outset, contributing its experience with similar PPP projects in other European countries with a view to minimising costs and maximising value added.