Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd is looking at picking up stakes of 26% to 51% in the hospitals managed by it, according to managing director Preetha Reddy. The group has identified eight prime hospitals in India.
“We are also open to further acquisitions,” said Reddy. The group has planned to invest around Rs 400 crore on increasing stakes and acquiring properties.
Reddy, who met West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Friday, said the group would invest Rs 300-400 crore in the next four years in the state. “We are looking at creating 1,000-1,500 beds in West Bengal.”
The group will set up at least five hospitals in tier II cities like Burdwan and Kharagpur in West Bengal operating on a hub-and-spoke model. Each of the 100-bed hospitals will receive an investment of Rs 25-35 crore.
The group has also planned to enter into a partnership with the state government. “The state government is open to the idea of PPP in the health sector. We are interested in running any particular department in state-run hospitals. But we have not identified any department till now,” she said.
The group is planning to set up a private medical college in Kolkata with an estimated investment of Rs 70 crore. The construction of an institute of nursing on the hospital’s premises will soon be completed.
Reddy, at a press conference to inaugurate a centre of excellence in orthopaedics in Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, said, “We hope to begin the work for the private medical college by next year”.