Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Mar 21, 2006
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Mar 21, 2006 |
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Industry & Economy - Medical Institutions & Hospitals For hospital groups, it's Destination Mumbai P.T. Jyothi Datta
THE APOLLO Hospital in New Delhi. Mumbai had not seen a high level of activity in healthcare because of the high real estate costs. — R.V. Moorthy
Mumbai , March 19 There seems to be a rush of healthcare providers flocking to Mumbai to set up super-speciality hospitals. Work has started on a 1,000-bed multi-speciality hospital located close to the Sahar International Airport on the outer fringes of Mumbai. The estimated Rs 360 crore hospital is coming up on the BMC's (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) unfinished cancer project being developed by the Vizag-based Seven Hills Healthcare Ltd. The hospital is scheduled to be completed by late 2007. Only last month, the Apollo Hospitals Group committed Rs 400 crore towards establishing two tertiary hospitals. Company top brass expect at least one 200 to 300-bed hospital to become operational by next year. A proposed heart hospital, the pet project of cardiac surgeon late Dr Nitu Mandke and currently under the aegis of Mr Anil Ambani was scheduled to be completed this year. But Dr Alka Mandke, wife of the cardiac surgeon, told Business Line that the project was in the process of being redesigned. The hospital was initially projected to be a Rs 300-crore project. It came under the junior Ambani's wing after the untimely demise of Dr Nitu Mandke, when the project ran into rough weather. Unlike other cities, Mumbai had not seen a high level of activity in healthcare since real estate costs were "not too friendly" and this distorted the financial viability of the project, observed Mr Ratan Jalan, Chief Executive Officer of Apollo Health and Lifestyle Ltd (AHLL). "Our absence in Mumbai was speaking louder than our presence in other cities," he quipped on the significance of having a base in the city. AHLL is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Apollo Hospitals Group that runs the chain of family healthcare centres. It recently broke the Mumbai-jinx, when it launched its first clinic at Andheri, also in the suburbs. "There is a huge market potential in Mumbai as the composition of the city changes. The suburb is where the action is and real-estate costs are more flexible," he observes. With a three-and-a-half year-old hospital in Mumbai, Wockhardt Hospitals Group is also looking for an opportunity to set up its second hospital in the city, said Mr Vishal Bali, the Group's Chief Executive Officer. Expanding cities have created the need for organised healthcare across the country, not just Mumbai, he observes. And while Mumbai offers an accessible hub for overseas patients as well, the cost of creation there will always be high, he admits.
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