SINT JANS GASTHUIS SUSTAINABLE HEALTHCARE

Financing the construction of a new, sustainable and efficient hospital in Weert (the Netherlands), replacing an outdated and larger facility. The new hospital shall enable Sint Jans Gasthuis to continue its role as a general hospital, providing acute care and fulfilling a regional function for oncology and care for elderly, in a largely rural area with a relatively aged population.

The project supports the Promoter's master plan for a new hospital that replaces a larger and outdated building. That new building facilitates the transition towards sustainable and more efficient healthcare services. It also enables Sint Jans Gasthuis to maintain the scale and volume of its healthcare services in a more modern setting, in a hospital building that is smaller than the current one. The project also helps Sint Jans Gasthuis to maintain its role as a regional hospital, providing both general and some specialised care, while addressing the medical needs of an increasingly aged population in its catchment area. The project is split in two phases, with completion expected in 2025 and 2030 respectively.

The purpose of the project is to finance the long-term investment programme of St. Jans Gasthuis Weert (SJG-Weert) aimed at sustainable healthcare delivery, considering the changing demographic environment in the region. This project addresses the sub-optimal investment situation in the European health infrastructure due to market failures originating from the public goods nature of hospitals and other healthcare facilities and the large health externalities they generate. The project generates benefits through the provision of improved hospital, outpatient care and long-term care services and the reduction of energy consumption. By providing integrated and efficient healthcare services of higher quality, the project aims to respond to the changing needs of an ageing population, hit by the COVID-19 crisis, and to developments in healthcare practices.

Financially, the operation will ensure that SJG-Weert has access to sufficient and stable financial resources for the timely implementation of the project. The Bank provides flexibility in terms of availability and grace periods, allowing the promoter to spread out its investments over the planned construction period. The Bank's provision of 25-year financing provides significant stability to the management of the Borrower's long-term obligations.

Hospitals are not explicitly mentioned in the EIA Directive 2014/52/EU amending the Directive 2011/92/EU, though the project is covered by Annex II of the Directive about urban development. The Bank's services will verify during appraisal the screening decision of the competent authority. It is expected that the project will bear more comprehensive benefits to the community as healthcare is an element of social cohesion and economic development

The Bank will require the Promoter to ensure that contracts for the implementation of the project have been and will be tendered in accordance with the relevant applicable EU procurement legislation (Directives 2014/24/EC and/or 2014/23/EC as well as Directives 89/665/EEC and 92/13/EEC) as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU, with the publication of tender notices in the Official Journal of the EU, as and where required.