RIYADH, 13 June 2006 — The Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has announced a grant of SR100 million to assist the efforts of the Ministry of Health in building the Kingdom’s health care infrastructure. Mohammed Al-Jasser, chairman of the STC board of directors, made the announcement at a function here Sunday night.
The STC’s contribution, to be used mainly to build 28 high-class primary health care centers, is the first such grant announced by a local company for a national project.
Health Minister Hamad Al-Manie said the money would help the ministry to operate primary health care centers in own buildings rather than running them in rented properties. These centers will be built within two years, he added.
Al-Manie said the ministry is implementing a massive plan to build 2,000 new health care centers in different parts of the Kingdom. All these centers will have their own buildings, equipment, staff and support system and they will be operational within five years.
“These centers will be built in a staggered schedule and the first phase of the project, under which 150 primary health care centers are being built, will be over within next few months,” said Al-Manie, while lauding the role of companies that have been helping national projects and community projects from time to time.
“We feel proud to work with the Ministry of Health on the project,” said Al-Jasser. He signed an agreement with the minister under which the STC would release the funds in two installments of SR50 million each.
He said the STC has surpassed all expectations and now has over 16 million subscribers on its service rolls, including 12 million mobile customers.
The number of STC customers is greater than the combined total of mobile users in all other GCC states. This gives the company a higher market penetration and an edge over others, Al-Jasser said.
The STC is ranked as one of the 15 biggest telecom operators in the world. The company has recently unveiled its 3G high-speed mobile phone service. The Saudi 3G network is the largest in the Middle East and gives access to voice and video calls, live TV and high-speed downloads.
