Apollo arm to invest Rs 400cr on new Cradle centres by 2018

Healthcare major Apollo Hospitals Enterprise's subsidiary Apollo Health and Lifestyle plans to invest around Rs 400 crore over the next five years to set up 36 premium birthing centres across the country under 'The Cradle' brand.

"We will be investing approximately Rs 400 crore to open 36 cradle centres across the country in the next five years," Apollo Health and Lifestyle Ltd (AHLL) Chief Executive Officer Neeraj Garg told PTI.

The company currently has the an operational Cradle centre each in Kozhikode, Gurgoan, while it has two Bangalore.

When asked how AHLL is planning to raise funds for the future expansion, Garg said: "It will be a combination of internal accruals, funding from the parent company and external funding which could be taken as and when required."

The company plans to build a pan-India presence as it believes there is a huge potential for cradle centres in metros and in tier I cities.

"We will build a national presence. We are already operating in the South and North. We shall consolidate our position in the three big Southern metros - Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad," Garg said.

The company will also make an entry into the metro markets in the West and the East. It will also continue to expand in the Delhi and NCR region, he added.

The company feels that market for these high-end birthing centre looks extremely promising.

"We perform both deliveries and gynaec procedures for women, apart from providing fertility treatment. In addition, we run a world-class neonatal ICU and a strong children's OPD facility," Garg said.