Hyderabad: City based NephroPlus, India’s largest dialysis network, signed a Rs 69.5 crore financing deal with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on January 4 to further its expansion plans in Uzbekistan for building four large dialysis centres.
The transaction will help NephroPlus establish four dialysis centres as part of a broader partnership with the Union health ministry and the Republic of Uzbekistan after securing a $100 million contract.
The transaction comprises a loan of up to Rs 41.7 crore from ADB’s ordinary capital resources and the administration by ADB of a loan of up to INR 27.8 crore from Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP).
NephroPlus will primarily use the funds to design, build, operate, and maintain the dialysis centres in Tashkent, the Republic of Karakalpakstan, and the Khorezm region. Notably, the dialysis centre in Tashkent, with its capacity of 160 machines, will be the largest in the world.
Further, the company hopes to provide quality dialysis care to over 1,100 patients in Uzbekistan. It has established a 100% owned local subsidiary to operate the centres for this project.
Under this deal, ADB will also support NephroPlus in enhancing and implementing a gender action plan to increase women’s participation in technical and skilled work in dialysis treatment centres through specific training pieces and strengthen gender equality measures in its working environment.
As a result, NephroPlus ensures that women make up half the personnel trained to use dialysis machines and conduct dialysis treatment across its global network.
“We are pleased to introduce peritoneal dialysis for the very first time in Uzbekistan to improve access to dialysis for paediatric patients and patients in rural areas. “We are happy to be the private partner for Uzbekistan’s first international health care PPP and to embark on a relationship with an international financier such as ADB as we continue to grow our operations,” said Founder and CEO of NephroPlus, Vikram Vuppala.
