A new teaching and research hospital at the University of Bengkulu opened its doors this week, backed by a $22 million concessional loan from the Saudi Fund for Development. The facility is expected to bolster healthcare delivery and medical training in the region, reinforcing nearly five decades of strategic collaboration between SFD and Indonesia.
Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, Chief Executive Officer of SFD, presided over the inauguration on Friday, joined by Dr Retno Agustina Ekaputri, Rector of the University of Bengkulu, and Ir H Mian, Vice-Governor of Bengkulu Province. The hospital promises expanded healthcare access for local communities while serving as an academic hub for medical students and professionals.
At the ceremony, Al-Marshad emphasised that the facility represents “an important milestone in strengthening healthcare services for the people of Bengkulu and beyond,” highlighting the nearly 49-year trajectory of cooperation between SFD and Indonesia and affirming their mutual commitment to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.
Functioning as both a medical facility and a teaching and research institution, the hospital is poised to enhance the region’s health system resilience, improve community health outcomes, and deliver hands-on training for new generations of medical staff.
Since its initial engagement in Indonesia in 1976, SFD has financed 12 development projects through over $396 million in loans, spanning healthcare, education, infrastructure and other vital sectors.
These initiatives illustrate a model of long-term development partnerships, tailored to local priorities while reinforcing broader global development objectives.
Al-Marshad’s visit also recalls a prior milestone when he laid the foundation stone for the hospital as part of a cluster of projects, including educational campuses in Jakarta and East Java, during his 2022 trip—an early indicator of the project’s eventual realisation. That plan had projected serving over 328,000 beneficiaries annually across Indonesia.
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