St Luke’s to spend P9B for Global City hospital

St. Luke’s Medical Center Inc. is spending P9.03 billion for the construction of a world-class medical complex in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

This new and modern facility is in line with St. Luke’s bid to become one of the top five medical institutions in Asia by year 2010. This will be St. Luke’s second home next to its facility in E. Rodriguez St. in Quezon City.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), St. Luke’s said the medical complex will have three towers — St. Luke’s Hospital which will provide a minimum of 500 beds, physician’s office with a minimum of 374 units, and the Energy Center which will house 1,300 parking slots for patients, guests and doctors.

The 12-story Medical Arts building or physician’s office will occupy a floor area of 12,432 square meters which is approximately 26.18 percent of the 47,487 total floor area of the entire medical complex.

The sizes of the medical suites vary from 26.84 to 53.56 square meters.

St. Luke’s said the bulk excavation works have been 100 percent completed. The project is expected to be completed by end-October this year.

Funding for the project will come from the sale of no par value shares, which is expected to raise about P1.42 billion.

St Luke’s to... From B-1

St. Luke’s has a stand-by credit of P220 million with Security Bank and another P200 million with China Banking Corp.

In order to cover a portion of the development cost of the medical complex, St. Luke’s will take out a syndicated loan from a consortium of banks and financial institutions. The loan is projected to be payable between seven to 10 years at interest rates ranging from eight percent to 10 percent per annum. The loan will be secured by mortgage over the medical complex.

St. Luke’s is currently evaluating proposals from three financial institutions to arrange a syndicated loan estimated at P2.89 billion. These institutions are SB Capital Investment Corp., Development Bank of the Philippines and Banco De Oro. It is anticipated that a definitive agreement will be reached by early 2008.

Founded in 1903, St. Luke’s has provided high-quality healthcare for over a century. Today, it is the undisputed leader in virtually all medical specialties, including cardiovascular medicine, neurology and neurosurgery, cancer, ophthalmology, and digestive and liver diseases. It is the first choice of medical and health-related practitioners and patients for executive check-ups.

St. Luke’s receives patients from around Asia, Micronesia, the Middle East, Europe and the United States.