Syria Clarifies Hospital Privatization Plan as Partnership

The clarification came after Talal al-Hilali, head of the Syrian Investment Authority, said in an interview with CNN Business Arabic that the state owns 71 public hospitals and is moving toward granting them to the private sector in partnership with the state, as part of what he described as an effort to develop the health sector and improve its efficiency.

Many followers interpreted the remarks as a step toward the “privatization” of public hospitals, raising concerns about the impact on citizens’ right to access healthcare services, especially under current economic conditions.

Potential Risks of Privatization

Economist Muhammed Ghareeb had previously warned in remarks to Enab Baladi that expanding privatization without careful study could lead to the opposite of its intended results. He said privatization may be a “useful tool” for improving efficiency, but could become harmful if introduced without planning and oversight, opening the door to corruption or foreign interference.

He added that the success of any move toward involving the private sector in the management of public institutions, including the health sector, depends on a set of basic conditions, most importantly:

Ghareeb said the absence of these conditions could turn privatization from a tool for improving efficiency into a factor that increases burdens on citizens and deepens inequality in access to services.

According to him, the success of such models depends not only on the legal framework but also on clear criteria for selecting investors and contracting with them, in a way that ensures equal opportunity and limits favoritism.

He also stressed the importance of setting clear ceilings on the costs that citizens may have to bear, and preventing additional financial burdens from being imposed under the banner of “improving service.” Any failure in these areas, he said, could weaken public trust in the state sector.

Speaking about the type of capital likely to pursue this kind of investment, Ghareeb said privatization generally attracts large companies with substantial capital. Such firms can bear high risks, but these investments still depend on the availability of an attractive investment climate. That, he said, requires studying privatization mechanisms in a way that benefits the national economy while also creating significant investment opportunities for local and international companies.

He said international experience shows that partnerships with the private sector can produce positive results, but only if the state has the real capacity to manage and oversee them effectively.

Privatization in Syria: Absence of plans threatens to waste state assets