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San Raffaele – Milan: Arab investors interested in the iceberg-shaped building

11 September, La Repubblica

The room is the same where don Verzè announced his dream, shared by his friend Silvio Berlusconi, “to bring Italians’ average life to 120 years”. It was 2008, although, looking now at the parterre, it seems another era: no more Berlusconi on the first row, but investors from Dubai, Arab Emirates, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia. People from the finance are also present, a connection that was officialised by the nomination as Ceo of Enrico Tommaso Cucchiani, former Intesa Sanpaolo Ceo. This is the new San Raffaele, introducing its new signature building which will rise within the perimeter of the hospital. It’s called the Iceberg, and it will accommodate the emergency department, surgery rooms, and hospital patients.

The building, designed by Mario Cucinella, is eco-sustainable and antismog, and it will be ready by 2020. But more importantly, it’s the symbol of a new era for the San Donato group, which under its founder Giuseppe Rotelli saved the hospital from bankruptcy six years ago. Today, the hospital is celebrating its achievements, and it’s looking towards the Middle East. The company wants to consolidate its record in Italy: “We’re a private company, but a special private company. We provide from simple check-ups to the most complex therapies, like the gene therapy to treat children born without immune system”, comments Paolo, son of the founder and manager of the holding worth 1.5 billion a year. The group is at the centre of the great activity that is currently concerning Milan’s healthcare system, like the transfer of a new department of Galeazzi to the former Expo area, and the second San Raffaele hospital in the old Flack area. And now the Iceberg, worth alone a 400-million investment.

The new trend looks at the Middle Eastern countries, whose investors are very interested in the Italian healthcare and Lombardy’s mix of public and private sector. This explains all the diplomats and the people from the financial world from the Middle East that took part in yesterday’s event. The Rotelli family started a new company to consolidate its presence in the area, and the Board of Directors will be guided by the Tunisian Kamel Ghribi, a very well-known figure in the international political and financial world. The new company is called Gsd Middle East with headquarter in Dubai. So far, the company has entered partnerships with local investors to launch training courses for doctors, but it might expand its activities in the future. After all, Don Verzè motto still dominates on the entrance of the San Raffaele offices: “Everything’s possible if you believe”.

Source: La Repubblica

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi