Jordan’s King Abdullah inaugurates Saudi-funded hospital expansion

JEDDAH: Jordan’s King Abdullah on Monday inaugurated the new expansion of Queen Alia Military Hospital in Amman.
He did so in the presence of the Saudi ambassador to Jordan, Prince Khalid bin Faisal bin Turki.
The new expansion cost 37 million Jordanian dinars ($52.2 million), and was financed by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD).
The hospital’s renovation started in 2014 to cope with continuous medical development and to accommodate the increasing number of patients.
The expansion has increased the hospital’s area to 17,500 square meters, including a three-story building housing 56 clinics, and a building equipped with 28 kidney dialysis machines.
The hospital now includes a 23-bed intensive care unit, a 42-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a surgery ward comprising eight operating theaters.
In December 2018, the SFD and Jordan’s government signed a deal to reschedule the repayment of $114 million that Jordan owes to the fund.
The debt includes 19 loans that will now be settled over 20 years, with a grace period of five years.
Earlier, Jordan’s government thanked Saudi Arabia for its contribution to a Gulf grant worth $1.25 billion for strategic and high-priority projects.
Saudi Arabia has also contributed to an aid package to Jordan, and has supported the latter’s development efforts to ease the burden of hosting refugees through a grant of $100 million.