Export-Import Bank Provides Crucial Loan for Hospital Project in Sub-Saharan Africa

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Accra, Ghana—The Export-Import Bank of the United States has recently approved a substantial loan that will be used in the development of a Ghanaian hospital. Ex-Im Bank is set to provide financing worth $155.4 million to the Republic of Ghana that will be concretely turned into the expansion of the Ridge Hospital Complex. Seven hundred U.S. jobs will be supported by the aforementioned loan, and data from the Departments of Commerce and Labor indicates, and a domestic company, Americaribe Inc., will export the goods and services that will be used in the project.

Originally built in 1928, the health institution is currently the primary medical facility for the Greater Accra Region, an area that now has a population of around 4 million people. The Export-Import Bank is currently focusing on sub-Saharan Africa and this loan would help improve the quality of the region’s healthcare. The finished product will include a 420-bed health care facility that will also feature a comprehensive diagnostic and treatment block and a state-of-the-art maternity ward.

Miami-based Americaribe is involved in the design, engineering, and construction of healthcare, education, transportation, residential, and commercial projects, part of the Paris-based Bouygues group, a multinational entity. According to Americaribe’s President, Jean-Baptiste Baudin de la Valette,”The Ghana Ridge Hospital is a key project for the company’s business development, boosting our activity and allowing us to create between 15 and 20 new jobs in the U.S. during the three years of the contract.”

The Ghanaian government applied for the loan from the Ex-Im Bank and was advised in the process by HSBC London and New York Project & Export Finance teams. As previously stated, the Ex-Im bank has recently concentrated its focus on sub-Saharan Africa with around $1.5 billion provided to the area in order to encourage U.S. exports to the area in 2012.

The U.S. Ex-Im Bank has also recently directed funds to Nigeria, in support of a project that would secure the purchase of 32 fire-fighting vehicles. The value of the loan that the bank is providing to the Nigerian state is $15.7 million. The company that manufactures the vehicles is W.S. Darley & Co. (Darley), an Itasca, Ill-based entity.