Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health announced on Thursday that t has awarded a 10-year concession for a pilot diagnostic imaging public-private partnership (PPP) project to local company Altakassusi Alliance Medical.

Altakassusi Alliance Medical is a regional diagnostic imaging joint venture between Alliance Medical Group, a European independent provider of imaging services; Nexus Gulf Healthcare; and King Faisal Specialist Hospital International Holding.

The company said in a press statement that the project, supported by IFC as Lead Transaction Advisor, would help deliver free-of-charge radiology and imaging services to more than one million beneficiaries across seven hospitals in the Kingdom through a diagnostic imaging network.

The statement said the JV will work with more than 450 staff and will be responsible for managing patient services in the hospitals’ respective radiology and nuclear medicine departments as well as invest in new ones.

The PPP project will improve the quality and efficiency of medical imaging services by introducing new information, technology capabilities and equipment, while helping to maintain or replace vital equipment when required.

The project will serve as a pilot for the rollout of similar PPPs nationwide, the statement added.

The radiology workforce will have greater opportunities in the training and development programmes, as these programmes will be held under the umbrella and supervision of the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCHS), the Ministry has stated on its website,

The hospitals that will benefit from the PPP are as follows:

•      King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh

•      Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Hospital, Riyadh

•      Al Dawadmi General Hospital

•      Al Zulfi General Hospital

•      King Khaled Hospital, Al-Majmaah

•      Al Yamamah Hospital, Riyadh

•      Al Artawiyah General Hospital

The Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued 20 December 2021 to seven prequalified companies:

  1. Saudi European Diagnostics Consortium
  2. Altakhassusi Alliance Medical Company
  3. Affidea-Arabia Consortium
  4. Ribera Salud Arabia and Olayan Group
  5. InHealth and Dallah Healthcare Company
  6. Voxel - Ascend - Al Fozan Consortium
  7. Lamar Holding and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited Consortium

The Express of Interest (EOI) notice was issued on 29 April 2019. The notice said the project would enable radiological patient images to be easily shared among radiologists and physicians. It will also improve operational excellence by integrating the digital infrastructure in the selected hospitals' radiology departments; and installing or upgrading their Hospital Information Systems (HIS) and electronic Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS).

When announced, the project was the Ministry’s first-ever PPP.

Read more: Saudi Arabia receives 424 expressions of interest for 3 healthcare PPP projects

Saudi Arabia’s Health Ministry announces 3 PPP hospital projects

Saudi Arabia to launch two PPP primary health centre projects

Saudi Arabia awards first hospital PPP project

(Writing by Anoop Menon; Editing by Bhaskar Raj)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)