The Saudi Ministry of Health aspires to increase the private sector’s participation in the sector from to 35 percent by 2030 from 25 percent RIYADH: The ministry is working with partners in the private sector and across government to implement a package of initiatives for privatization projects in the health sector in several regions in the Kingdom, with an initial investment volume exceeding $7.3 billion, Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said on Wednesday. The Saudi Ministry of Health aspires to increase the private sector’s participation in the sector from to 35 percent by 2030 from 25 percent today, he said. It is seeking to operate medical cities, hospitals and primary care centers, highlighting the launch of an approximately $187 million project to build and operate Al-Ansar Hospital in Al Madinah with a capacity of 244 beds, the partnership contract for which is expected to be signed during the fourth quarter of this year. The Ministry of Health is also seeking to offer 74 primary health care centers in the Kingdom, with initial investment of approximately $266 million, and the partnership contract is expected to be signed during the third quarter of next year, he said. The ministry is also working on a $6.1 billion project to establish two medical cities with a capacity of 1,500 beds in the regions of Asir and Al-Jouf, aiming to provide specialized health services to the residents of the southern and northern regions of the Kingdom, and the partnership contract is expected to be signed in the second quarter of 2023, he said. Privatizing the sector will have a good effect on raising the level of competition and reducing costs on the state when privatizing, especially if compulsory insurance is applied to citizens, business consultant Majed Alsaggaf told Arab News. However, the health sector is very large and occupies a high percentage of the state budget, meaning it has taken longer than others to reform, Alsaggaf said.