• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Port Info

• Ships in Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• Business Line
• The Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

Kolkata , June 28

THE Rs 300-crore B.P. Poddar Group, which has interests in sectors such as real estate, education, steel and healthcare, has unveiled plans to invest Rs 250 crore in various healthcare initiatives in the next couple of years.

The proposed investment corpus would be generated by way of promoters' contribution and debt, according to Mr Arun Poddar, Chairman of the B.P. Poddar group of companies.

Speaking to newspersons at a function held here to announce the launch of the "hub-and-spoke concept" in healthcare in Kolkata, Mr Poddar said the group had already invested Rs 60 crore in a 220-bed, multi-speciality hospital at New Alipore in Kolkata. This facility would act as a hub for the "spoke concept" clinics that would be set up throughout West Bengal. The first of these "spoke" clinics has just been inaugurated in the central business district of Kolkata at an investment of around Rs 5 crore. About 4-5 such "spokes" would be set up in and around Kolkata in 1-2 years.

According to him, the group proposes to invest a further amount of Rs 250 crore on healthcare and related fields over the next two years. Plans in this regard include the setting up of another 100-bed hospital and a chain of clinics. The group has also proposed to set up a medical college, a dental college and a college of nursing and paramedics. The proposed medical college is expected to be operational within the next three years.

Mr Poddar said the payback period for the proposed investment in healthcare initiatives would be 7-8 years. In the next two years, the group's healthcare business was expected to contribute to around 40 per cent of its overall turnover, Mr Poddar said.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
L&T gets Rs 418-crore contract in Harayana

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line