Omani-Malaysian JV wins Suhar drug rehab PPP project
Conrad Prabhu
Business Correspondent - Oman Daily Observer; Magazine Editor - ENERGY OMAN
OMAN DAILY OBSERVER / 9 MAR 2025
CONRAD PRABHU
Al Salwa Care and Health Services LLC, a joint venture between Omani investor Neem Projects and Malaysian addiction treatment services operator Solace Asia, has been awarded the Omani government’s mandate to develop and operate a major drug rehabilitation centre in Suhar on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis.
An agreement for the Al Taafi Suhar Centre for Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation was signed in Muscat recently with representatives from the Omani-Malaysian JV, as well as high-level officials from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, and the Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit.
UK-based Concept Realisation, a specialist advisory practice retained as the Lead Transaction Adviser on the PPP deal, hailed the award as the “first social sector PPP transaction to be signed in the Sultanate of Oman”, as well as the “first PPP deal globally for drug treatment and rehabilitation”.
Significantly, the signing caps a multi-year effort by the Ministry of Finance, which oversees the procurement of all PPP projects on behalf of the government, to deliver this landmark project in partnership with private players.
The Al Taafi Suhar Centre is envisioned as a modern de-addiction and rehabilitation facility designed to enable users of narcotics and psychotropic substances to reintegrate back into the society.? The longer term hope is for the facility to evolve into a Centre of Excellence for drug rehab services in Oman. Under the long-term PPP arrangement with the governemnt, the new JV will oversee the Design, Build, Finance, Operation and Maintenance (DBFOM) of the facility.
Announcing the signing of the agreement, Concept Realisation said: “This is a landmark transaction, as it is an integrated healthcare PPP i.e. includes clinical services, one of the first in the region. It includes detoxification and rehabilitation, offering inpatient, outpatient and aftercare services. It is structured around service delivery with availability measures and key performance indicators that can attract deductions.”
The advisory firm further added in a post: “This PPP transaction sets many new precedents for achieving the United Nations SDGs, specifically SDG3: Ensure healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages, and SDG17: Partnerships for the goals.”
Solace Asia, the international partner in the JV, is recognized as one of Asia’s leading addiction services providers accredited by regulators in Malaysia and internationally as well. Kuala Lumpur-headquartered Solace Asia operates a network of fully equipped scientific treatment and research centres designed to treat various substance and behavioural addictions.
Concept Realisation, as the Lead Transaction Adviser, was responsible for the financial, clinical, technical, commercial, legal and procurement aspects of the transaction. “Concept Realisation developed the PPP structuring, the business case and fiscal obligations, public sector comparator, bid documents. We prepared the bid evaluation report, the Partnership Contract and managed the procurement process for the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance through to contract signing,” the advisory firm added.