PESHAWAR, Nov 15: The federal government has asked the provincial governments to assess an investment offer put forth by an American organization showing interest in establishing a chain of hospitals on turn key basis in various parts of the country, according to sources.

Apart from establishing a chain of hospitals in the urban and rural areas of Pakistan, Ponmas Corporation, Boston, USA has submitted a set of proposals to government of Pakistan showing its willingness to invest in the health sector by entering into joint ventures in the public sector.

Through a recently sent official communique, the federal ministry of health, said the senior government functionaries, had asked the provincial governments to look into the proposal and assess the same to materialize the offer.

In this respect, the NWFP health department has been told that the provincial government[s] would process PC-1 for improvement of district and tehsil headquarter hospitals through their planning and development departments following which the same would be submitted to the Economic Affairs Division, Islamabad, for foreign assistance.

In addition to new hospitals the US organization has proposed establishment of sophisticated technology and modern 400-bed hospitals, rehabilitate the existing hospitals, provision of latest medical equipment and medicines, the sources said.

Other than that it has also offered to provide to Pakistani health institutes affiliation with American medical institutes like Harvard Medical School, training courses for Pakistani professionals, facilitating in management of hospitals and provide free medicines on humanitarian grounds for the deserving and poor people.

“Hospitals would be made on turn-key basis for which complete financing would be arranged by the American organization,” said the sources while quoting Ponmas’s proposal.

Sources in the provincial government said that the authorities concerned were assessing the offers and a decision about this would be made only after taking under considerations its pros and cons.

The provincial government, said the sources, would be required to provide necessary land for the project and necessary guarantees and required down payments by the financing institutions.

The federal health ministry had intimated to the provincial government that decision making in the matter would be entirely up to their planning and development department, the sources said.