The National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) has announced that it has extended its financing of the new King Hamad American Mission Hospital (AMH), which is expected to open in 2022. In addition to financing the construction of the hospital, NBB is now also financing the installation of solar panels.
According to a statement, the hospital will be the first eco-friendly hospital in the Kingdom, covering up to 50% of its electricity requirements from photovoltaic energy.
NBB said its latest initiative is in line with its commitment to support commercial entities and small to medium enterprises in Bahrain, alongside financing many sectors within the Kingdom, particularly the healthcare sector. The bank said it also seeks to promote the use of renewable energy sources in Bahrain by providing the necessary financing to major projects, as solar panels become more widespread across various hospitals and healthcare centres globally. 
The hospital will occupy an area of 57,000sqm in A’Ali in Bahrain and will include a maternity and children’s block, a multi-specialty block with an Intensive Care Unit, a diagnostics centre, a fertility centre, a 300-seat auditorium and a special needs children’s development, assessment and treatment centre.
“We are pleased to provide the financing for construction of the upcoming state-of-the-art King Hamad American Mission Hospital, which includes eco-friendly financing to install solar panels. At NBB, we remain steadfast in our support of strategic sectors within the Kingdom and are committed to working hand-in-hand with the healthcare sector to bring sustainable projects of this scale and magnitude to life,” said Arif Janahi, head of Commercial and SMEs at NBB.
The hospital will be the first private hospital in the Kingdom to have a renewable energy source. The solar panels will be fully equipped with a net metering system and will be used to meet significant portion of AMH’s power requirements, the statement explained.
Zied Jalali, head of Structured Finance and Transaction Banking at NBB added, “This project is at the heart of NBB’s drive to promote sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) centric financing resulting in creating an impact within our community and its various sectors. Our sustainability initiatives align with the Kingdom’s efforts to boost ESG values listed in the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030. The King Hamad AMH project is at the highest levels of sustainability as it touches three key ESG pillars, namely, healthcare, education, through the imbedded education and training center, and renewable energy, through the solar sub-project. We are delighted that NBB is part of this ambitious project.”
American Mission Hospital Corporate CEO Dr George Cheriyan concluded, “With NBB’s support, we are looking to install around 3,000 solar panels on the hospital’s roof to generate a sufficient amount of power that aims to reduce our electrical bills by up to 50%. As the first eco-friendly private hospital, we hope that this will become the norm amongst other healthcare facilities and hospitals across the Kingdom.”
