Shanghai's Tongji University, Siemens and Germany-based hospital operator Asklepios Kliniken will team up to establish a joint-venture hospital under a public-private partnership structure in Shanghai.
The hospital plans to be launched before the World Expo 2010 and could be expanded to a capacity of over 500 beds thereafter. More than EUR100 million will be invested in the Chinese hospital which will be located in the Shanghai International Medical Zone. With this project the partners aim to establish a cutting-edge and fully digital general hospital which provides world-class healthcare services.
"The joint-venture contract marks an important milestone in the realization of this landmark project. We see enormous potential for expanding public-private partnerships to other hospital projects in China and beyond," said Johannes Schmidt, managing director of Siemens Financial Services, whose subsidiary Siemens Project Ventures invests equity in the Sino-German Friendship Hospital as joint venture partner. "All partners contribute their particular core competencies: Tongji University adds its medical and scientific know-how, Siemens its combined expertise in structured finance, clinical workflow, and hospital technology solutions and Asklepios Kliniken its experience as an operator of more than 100 hospitals."
As early as in November 2005, the project had gained highest attention on the political stage, when the President Hu Jintao and German Federal President Horst Köhler were present at the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding in Berlin. The City of Shanghai has included the Sino-German Friendship Hospital in its 11th Five-Year Plan as one of the two key projects for healthcare development until 2010.
Professor Wan Gang, President of Tongji University and designated Chinese Minister of Science and Technology, commented: "As the initiator of the project, Tongji University is now celebrating its 100th Anniversary. It is very meaningful that we are doing a historic project in 2007 which is similar to Dr. Erich Paulun's work 100 years ago, in the sense that we are contributing to construct a new bridge between German medicine and Chinese people by setting up the Shanghai Sino-German Friendship Hospital. We believe that the parties of this hospital-project will work together to realize their common vision and interests, and to promote the development of medical technology and services in China."
The Shanghai Sino-German Friendship Hospital joint venture will construct and operate the hospital. Tongji University will hold 46 percent of the shares.
Siemens contributes to the development and funding of the project in various ways. Siemens Project Ventures, a part of Siemens Financial Services, will hold 40 percent of the shares and will take a leading role in structuring of the financing. Siemens Medical Solutions Group will join forces with Siemens Project Ventures and will take part in the establishment of world-class clinical workflows with latest medical equipment and medical IT technology.
Asklepios Kliniken, one of Germany's major private hospital operators with hospitals worldwide, will hold 14 percent of the shares and will operate the Sino-German Friendship Hospital in cooperation with Tongji.
In addition, Tongji University has concluded a partnership agreement covering staff training with the Medical University in Hannover, Germany. The first trainees in this program for 12 medical doctors and 5 nurses will finish their 2- year training in MHH and returne to Tongji this year. In 2006 similar agreements have been concluded with Berlin's Charité Hospital and the second group of trainees will go there soon.
The first construction phase of the Sino-German Friendship Hospital is scheduled to be completed in 2009. The hospital is envisaged to commence operations before the World Expo 2010.
