Japanese health care sector giant Tokushukai Medical Corporation plans to open its first hospital in Bulgaria in the autumn, worth more than 100 million euro.

Tokushukai also plans to build another hospital here if the first project proves profitable.

The construction of the 500-bed Tokuda Hospital Sofia has almost been completed and a second wing, also for 500 beds, would be ready in the late autumn of this year, Takao Suzuki, senior executive director of Tokushukai, told a news conference in Sofia on May 18.

If the hospital in Bulgaria generates enough revenue to repay the bank loans that Tokushukai has taken out to finance the project, the company could get more loans for future projects, Suzuki said.

The Tokushukai Medical Corporation, founded in 1973, says it operates some 60 hospitals and more than 100 clinics and healthcare facilities in Japan.

The company plans to turn the Tokuda Hospital Sofia into a model for future projects and the one with the highest standards in Eastern Europe, InvestBulgaria Agency said in a statement.

On May 18, InvestBulgaria executive director Stoyan Stalev handed a first-class investment certificate to Tokushukai for the Tokuda Hospital Sofia investment project.

Yukari Tokuda, daughter of Tokushukai Medical Corporation chairman Dr Torao Tokuda, received the certificate in the presence of Japanese ambassador to Bulgaria Koichiro Fukui.

Stalev expressed hope that the project will generate publicity for Bulgaria among Japanese investors, encouraging them to be more active here.