InterHealth Canada plans more projects in Poland

2012-01-31



InterHealth Canada, the global healthcare management firm, has signalled a long-term commitment to investing in Poland’s healthcare sector. Speaking at a conference on Canadian expertise in public-private partnership (PPP) projects, held on 30 January at the Canadian Embassy in Warsaw under the patronage of the Economy Ministry, George Commander, CEO of InterHealth Canada, said that the group’s PPP contract for the construction and management of a district hospital in Zywiec (Slaskie) was likely to be followed by more projects of this type in Poland (as well as neighbouring countries) in the years ahead. InterHealth Canada perceives Poland as a market with high growth potential in Central and Eastern Europe, due to the vast need for capital and know-how in its healthcare sector. According to the group, its “integrated PPP” model presents cash-strapped and debt-ridden public authorities in Poland with an attractive alternative in healthcare financing, as it enables the full transfer of operational risk to private investors and healthcare operators. Such projects can be structured as „off balance sheet” ones with neutral effects on debt levels, in contrast to infrastructure PPPs requiring significant availability payments. At the same time, they require measures to assure revenues and safeguard against certain political and extraneous risks, said Nasser Massoud, InterHealth Canada’s Executive Board Director and Global Head of Transactions & Corporate Development.