JEDDAH, 25 October 2005 — The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) has signed an $11.7 million agreement with Al-Rafie Medical Group. This was announced by Dr. Ali A. Soliman, CEO and general manager of ICD during an iftar party at the Jeddah Crowne Plaza hotel last Tuesday. The agreement was signed by Dr. Ali A. Soliman and Al-Rafie Medical Group’s Chairman Mohammad Khalil Al-Rafie. This will enable the Al-Rafie hospital in Makkah to purchase state-of-the-art medical equipment. Of the total financing, the ICD will contribute $6.3 million from its own resources and syndicate the remaining from Bank Aljazira, Dr. Ali said.
The facility will also enable the Al-Rafie hospital to implement a major expansion plan by adding a new 80-bed hospital. The hospital now has a 50-bed facility. The two buildings will be linked to each other.
This expansion will contribute to improving medical care services in Makkah for both residents and Haj and Umrah pilgrims.
Two months earlier, the ICD signed a $1.7 million agreement with the same group to meet its working capital requirements.
A private-sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), ICD seeks to promote the economic development of its member countries by encouraging the establishment, expansion and modernization of private enterprises.
The ICD is planning to finance projects worth $100 million in various Muslim countries in 2005. They include a cement projects in Sudan and Yemen, an Islamic bank in Pakistan and two projects in Bahrain — one to produce ferroalloys and the other a power generating plant.