As Andhra Pradesh is bifurcated into two States on June 2, Apollo Hospitals sees a huge opportunity in healthcare sector in the residual State, comprising 13 districts.
The hospital group would have three new hospitals with a total of 800 beds. The group, which comprises 50 hospitals, has a total capacity of 8,617 beds as on Mar 31, 2014.
Of this, 39 hospitals are owned by the group, its joint ventures and associates have 6,684 beds and the remaining 1,933 beds being managed by the group.
Of the 6,684 owned beds, 5,811beds were operational and had an occupancy of 71 per cent.
Good opportunity “We see a good opportunity there and we have lined up four major hospitals there this financial year. We are going to set up one along the Vijayawada-Guntur road. We will also set up our second unit in Visakhapatnam and another in Nellore,” Sangita Reddy, Executive Director (Operations) of Apollo Group of Hospitals, told Business Line. The Vijayawada-Guntur area is one of the top choices to be the future capital of Seemandhra.
“This is part of the 10,000 bed target we set ourselves,” she said.
While the Visakhapatnam unit will have 250 beds, the Nellore unit will have 200 beds. The one that is planned at Vijayawada too will have about 350 beds. “Each bed would require an investment of ₹50-80 lakh,” she said.
This would translate into an investment of ₹400-640 crore.