Japan's Sojitz Corporation is investing in the new A$1.5 billion Footscray Hospital in Melbourne. The hospital is the single largest health infrastructure investment in the state of Victoria.
Sojitz's Australian subsidiary and Plenary Group will establish an operating company to finance the project. Sojitz will provide 30% of the equity and Plenary Group the remaining 70%.
The project will be delivered as a public-private partnership by the Plenary Health consortium. The consortium comprises Plenary Group as sponsor, investor and asset manager, and Multiplex as builder. Honeywell and Compass Group will serve as facility services providers.
The Victorian Government has contracted the consortium to finance, design and construct the facility, and operate it for 25 years following completion.
The financial institutions participating in the project include the National Australia Bank, Westpac, Mizuho Bank, The Norinchukin Bank, Nippon Life Insurance and Crédit Industriel et Commercial.
The new 504-bed hospital will replace the current facility. It is designed to meet the growing healthcare needs of the communities in Melbourne's western suburbs, an area expected to see a 60% growth in population over the next 20 years.
The hospital will have the capacity to treat an additional 15,000 patients and enable 20,000 more people to be seen by the emergency department each year.
The project will create up to 2,000 jobs – during construction and through the establishment of a health, education and research precinct.
Construction will begin shortly. The hospital is expected to open in 2025.
Austrade had promoted Australia to Sojitz as a destination for healthcare investment, leading the company to begin investigating development opportunities.
