Astaldi has announced it has reached an agreement regarding the entry of Meridiam, a global investor and asset manager specializing in transport infrastructures and hospitals, into the capital of Sociedad Concesionaria Metropolitana de Salud (SCMS),

SCMS is the concession holder for the West Metropolitan Hospital in Santiago de Chile. As a result of the agreement, Meridiam will hold a 49% interest in SCMS and Astaldi will maintain all activities related to construction and O&M services.

The concession involves the construction and subsequent operation for a twenty-year period of a hospital facility providing 523 beds. It entails an overall investment of €305 million (US$323 million), €254 million (US$269 million) of which financed on a non-recourse basis by a syndicate of international banks. The facility is currently under construction by Astaldi and will be completed by the end of 2018. 

In June 2014, Astaldi Concessioni S.R.L. was awarded the concession contract for the project and in May 2016, it achieved financial close. BBVA, Itaú Corpbanca and Santander agreed to provide a US$262 million 12-year loan. 

From Astaldi’s financial point of view, the agreements translates into the deconsolidation of approximately US$106 million of non-recourse debt referring to SCMS and a cash-in of US$10.6 million, in keeping with the book value of the stake sold.

Astaldi has been working in Chile for more than 20 years and is currently involved in the execution of landmark projects such as the E-ELT (the world’s largest optical telescope), the underground project for Chuquicamata (the world’s largest open-pit copper mine) and expansion of Arturo Merino Benítez Airport in Santiago, operation of which has been in the hands of Astaldi since October 2015. It also holds multi-year concessions for construction and operation of hydroelectric plants, airports, hospitals and industrial mining plants.

The project is part of MOP's hospital concessions program tendered between 2010 and 2014, with total investment reaching US$2.2 billion. The program included capital Santiago's Salvador Geriatric Hospital, Félix Bulnes, Sótero del Río and Puento Alto hospitals; region VII's Curicó and Linares hospitals; region VIII's Chillán hospital; and region V's Provincial de Marga-Marga and Biprovincial de Quillota-Petorca hospitals.