Apollo Hospitals to invest Rs 2,000 cr

Company intends to add 2,175 beds over next three years

Healthcare major Apollo Hospitals Enterprise plans to open 12 hospitals in the next three years entailing an investment of Rs 2,032.70 crore.

As per the plan, the company will add 2,175 beds over the next three years, the company said in its Corporate Review and Business Update 2014.

“Total funding requirement is Rs 2,032.7 crore. Already Rs 590.1 crore have been invested,” it added.

When asked how the healthcare provider planned to raise funds for expansion, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise chief financial officer Krishnan Akhileswaran said: “It will be a combination of internal accruals and debt.” The group has significant headroom to raise capital, the update said.

Most of the hospitals will be super-speciality facilities while one of them will be a multi-speciality and the other a reach hospital.

The healthcare provider is following cluster strategy for expansion to ensure dominance in cities like Chennai and widen the reach in locations such as Bangalore.

It is undertaking greenfield projects in attractive newer markets, the update said. Other initiatives such as e-ICU and mobile health are also being taken up in a big way, Apollo Hospitals said.

Currently, the Chennai-based healthcare chain has 50 hospitals with an estimated bed capacity of 8,617 beds.