Apollo Hospitals to add 600 beds pan India this year

Ahmedabad, Apr,19: Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd, a chain of Chennai based hospitals is planning to add 600 new beds across the country and a stand alone Cardiac Care unit in Ahmedabad. This is in addition to the already existing 8,400 bed infrastructure for the fiscal year 2016-17 and the 39 functional heart centres across the country at its various hospital facilities.

The bed expansion is calling for an estimated budget of Rs. 600 crores, which is supposed to be met through hospital accruals and debt. While,the cost of the heart centre is estimated at Rs. 65 crores, and the unit is to be commissioned within 12 months.

"We have laid out plans for greenfield expansions for the current fiscal. Our two big projects will come up in Vishakhapatnam and Navi Mumbai soon. We have also planned next round of expansions," said Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group, during a media interaction here.

Ms.Reddy further stated. "We are comfortable with our current Deb-to-Equity ratio. And we also have sufficient internal accruals. So, the funding will be a combination of debt and internal accruals."

The Hindu reports that the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), in its meeting held last month, had rejected the Apollo Hospital proposal to raise funds from overseas.

Dr Samir Dani has been chosen Head of Centre, Ahmedabad unit. He is a renowned cardiac surgeon and Director of Apollo Hospital’s, Cardiology Division.

"We plan to provide cardiac care facilities at the doorstep of the patients. The Center will be equipped with superior technology used for CT scan by calcium deposits. This will help study the blockage of vessels and help detect the problem early," said Dani.

A similar facility, is presently available in Apollo Hospitals, Chennai and Delhi.