Max Healthcare lines up Rs 6,000 crore for expansion

New Delhi: Private hospital chain Max Healthcare plans to invest Rs 6,000 crore over the next three years to expand its network across key locations in India, its chairman and managing director, Abhay Soi, told ET on Tuesday.Soi said the hospital chain, which is entering its 25th year, will add three more facilities this year to mark the milestone. At present, Max Healthcare operates 22 healthcare facilities with around 5,000 beds. “We have a total of 22 hospitals right now. This is our 25th year and also year 2025, so we want to expand it to 25 hospitals in the country,” he said, adding that the company is looking at a 400-bed hospital in Saket, expansion in Nanavati and Mohali, and a new hospital in Gurugram by December this year.

On Tuesday, health minister JP Nadda inaugurated a 300-bed greenfield facility of Max Super Speciality Hospital at Dwarka. The new facility will have more than 120 critical-care beds, 10 modular operation theatres and advanced cath labs.

“This is the first phase of the project with 300 beds. Very soon we’ll be coming up with the oncology tower and additional 200 beds, and then another 300 beds subsequently,” Soi said.

By 2028, the company plans to add 3,700 beds across the country, he said, adding that the company is on track as far as the average revenue per occupied bed is concerned (ARPOB).

“We had a 78% occupancy till last year then we increased the bed capacity by 30%. Yet our occupancy is 76-77%. This year again we will increase by another 30% and we are pretty sure that by the end of it we will also be full,” he said.Soi said he is open to mergers and acquisitions in India but there is no plan to go overseas. “We are more focused here–our efforts, our resources, our capital to India….serving the need here. I mean not for any other reason but we see a massive opportunity. It makes sense to look overseas when the Indian market saturates and we are nowhere close to saturating,” he said.