SJIF hails Cabinet decision to include its healthcare project under investment fund law

AMMAN — The Saudi Jordanian Investment Fund (SJIF) on Sunday expressed appreciation for the Cabinet’s decision to include its healthcare project under Jordan Investment Fund Law No.16 of 2016.

Based on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) agreement, the ownership of the project will be transferred to the Jordanian government after the end of the operation period, as the SJIF will obtain the required licences and approvals from the relevant government agencies and institutions before signing the investment contract.

The fund, in a statement, expressed appreciation for the government’s keenness to ease all obstacles hindering investments and enhance Jordan’s economic cycle and create new jobs for young Jordanians.

SJIF CEO Omar Wir said that the $400-milion healthcare project compromises a university hospital with a capacity of 300 beds, 60 external clinics, as well as a medical university, which will have 600 seats, offering a batch size of 100 seats per academic year.

“The-first of its kind in Jordan, the project will be implemented in partnership with two of the world’s most prestigious institutions in the fields of healthcare and medical education, as the medical partner was named one of the top five hospitals in the US, while the academic partner was ranked as one of the world’s top universities for medicine,” Wir added.

Wir said that besides improving Jordan’s healthcare services and increasing the country’s regional and global competitiveness in the fields of medical education and medical tourism and enriching scientific research, the project will provide more than 5,000 permanent jobs.

The SJIF is a Limited Public Shareholding Company based in Amman. It was formed in 2017 by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and 16 commercial and Islamic Jordanian banks, and is registered according to the 2016 Jordan Investment Fund Law, the fund’s website says.

With a capital commitment of $3 billion, the SJIF pursues strategic, sustainable and economically feasible investments in Jordan’s “vital and promising” sectors. 

The SJIF seeks to invest in viable long-term projects, create a clear and sustainable socioeconomic impact in Jordan and align its objectives with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia’s strategic investment direction, the website added.