Apollo Group to set up 32 new hospitals by 2012
POSTED March 20, 2010 - 12:11 | POSTED BY Kangna Agarwal
Last edited by Harpreet Bhagrath on March 20, 2010 - 12:36
Presently, the company has a set up of 50 hospitals and 8800 beds.
The healthcare group has plans to set up 32 more hospitals in the country within the next two years.
The other expansion plans include an upgradation of 20 existing hospitals with advanced equipment and technology by 2011-12.
“We will have 52 hospitals by April, 2010. Besides, we are also considering about 20 locations for further expansion,” Pratap C Reddy, chairman of Apollo Group was quoted by Finance Buzz as saying.
According to Reddy, there is a deficit of at least one lakh beds in the country. "India has insufficient capacity of beds, we are trying to add about 900 beds in coming six weeks in Bhubaneswar, Lavasa, Kolkata and Secunderabad,'' he informed.
The group has earmarked an investment of Rs. 1800 crore for its mammoth expansion.
Expansion of super specialty cancer hospitals
The company will also upgrade four of its nine oncology divisions to super specialty cancer hospitals along with a bone marrow transplant facility.
All these specialty centers will use Novalis TX, the latest technology in treatment of cancer. The first such hospital will be opened in Hyderabad on March 20, reported the Financial Express.
The second similar facility will be inaugurated in Kolkata on March 23. The third super specialty cancer hospital will be set up in New Delhi.
The fourth division set up in Chennai already has a facility with Cyberknife technology and would be further upgraded with advanced technology.
Besides, a stem cell bank in Ahmedabad, which could be used for treatment of certain cancers, is also scheduled to set up.
An estimated Rs. 400 crore will be earmarked out of the Rs. 1800 pool for the proposed upgradation.
Overseas operations
Giving details about company’s overseas acquisitions, Reddy informed that the group has signed agreements with five hospitals with an option to takeover each one of them within the next three years.
“We have two hospitals in Nigeria, and one heart hospital in Shanghai and Vienna. Though we have an option, currently we are not keen on picking up stake as the board has decided not to invest overseas,” Reddy explained.
Besides these projects, the company has no more plans of overseas expansion till July this year owing to prevalent market conditions, he informed.
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