Investec Bank has announced the signing of a €215-million agreement to finance two major hospital projects in Ghana.

The financing comprises two loans in favour of Ghana’s Ministry of Finance, with Investec having acted as sole mandated lead arranger (MLA) for both loans.

The first, backed by Swedish Export Credit Agency (EKN) and funded by Swedish Export Credit Corporation (SEK), is a €189-million loan with a tenor of 13 years and with re-insurance from Atradius DSB.

The second is a €26-million commercial loan arranged and structured by Investec to cover the down payment and is supported by Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa (ECIC) and funded by Investec.

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the projects will be carried out by Amandi Investment, with Bluebird Finance & Projects acting as lead financial adviser for the EPC.

Acre Impact Capital acted as impact adviser to Investec, ensuring the loans were fully aligned with Loan Market Association Social Loan Guidelines and eligible for an independent second party opinion certifying the same from DNV.  

Ghana Finance Minister Charles Kofi Adu Boahen says the projects are part of the country’s initiative to dramatically expand and develop its regional healthcare infrastructure and services, significantly improving access to quality healthcare services in the post-Covid environment for a population of three-million people.

The funding will be used to rehabilitate the Effia-Nkwanta Hospital and to build a new hospital in Agona. 

Once complete, the combined hospitals will include a centre of excellence for maternity, obstetrics, gynaecology and neonatal care (NICU), with 500 beds and over 40 000 m² of modern medical floor area and 6 000 m² of staff housing.

They will also provide a trauma and emergency unit, a burns unit, a medical imaging lab, advanced laboratory services and a cath lab/angiography and chemotherapy unit. 

Training will be provided to physicians, nurses and paramedics as part of the project implementation.