Date:22/03/2007 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/03/22/stories/2007032206301100.htm

Back Hyderabad hospital chalks out Rs 90-cr expansion plan

M. Somasekhar

Hyderabad, March 21

Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), the Hyderabad-based multi-speciality hospital, plans to construct a 14-storey, ultra-modern, medical centre with an estimated investment of Rs 90 crore in the city.

The towering structure, to be modelled on the Parliament building in New Delhi, will have 2-3 floors exclusively to cater to the emerging medical tourism, according to Dr B. Bhaskara Rao, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and chief cardiothoracic surgeon.

The project will come up on a three acres, adjacent to the existing KIMS hospital in the heart of the city. The necessary clearances have been obtained and work is expected to begin in September 2007. About 4 lakh sq.ft of built up area would be available to house the medical centre, he told Business Line here.

FUNDING

The hospital group is planning to raise the necessary funds through loans from financial institutions and also partly through internal resources and contributions from the core promoters for the new project.

Promoted by a group of professional doctors, KIMS was launched in 2004 with an initial investment of Rs 40 crore. While Rs 20 crore was the contribution of the promoter doctors, an equal amount was raised through loan from the banks, Dr Rao explained.

For the existing hospital also an immediate Rs 30-crore investment has been envisaged to ensure that complete range of medical expertise was available. The latest 64 slice CT scan facility, which would improve diagnosis in cancer and heart ailments, is being installed. About Rs 20 crore is being raised from GE Cap and ICICI Bank, while the balance is being pumped in by the promoters.

EXPANSION PLANS

As part of the expansion plans, KIMS is exploring hospital projects in New Delhi, Bhopal, Assam, Orissa and Kolkata in the next couple of years. It recently set up a diagnostic centre in Kabul in Afghanistan.

The hospital group is also focusing on creating professionals through its nursing college, medical college and paramedical training programmes it has been organising.