Fortis plans sports science institute, 10 hospitals by 2010

Fortis Healthcare plans to set up a Sports Science Institute and build at least 10 more hospitals here ahead of 2010 Commonwealth Games.

"The Sports Science Institute would train and treat injured athletes and would be the first of its kind in the country," a source close to the development said.

The company plans to bring in doctors from abroad for the proposed institute. Fortis is on the look out for a place to build the institute.

"The company had selected a few places for the institute, but because of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's drive, it has lost six months and those places have been declared illegal," the source said.

The company is prepared to invest Rs 50 crore but this could go up to Rs 70 crore because of skyrocketing real estate prices in the national capital. Fortis CEO & MD Shivinder Mohan Singh declined to confirm the development.

Singh said he is barred from Sebi to make any futuristic statements because the company has filed for Draft Red Herring Prospectus (for a public issue) with the market regulator.

With less than three years left for the Commonwealth Games and Fortis' experience shows that it takes at least six years to set up a fully operational greenfield project. So the company proposes to takeover an existing building and transform it into an institute.

The Delhi-headquartered Fortis began its operations in 2001, with a hospital in Mohali near Chandigarh. Today it has 12 healthcare facilities spread in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. So far, Fortis' footprint has been confined to North India. To shed its North India image, Fortis would be starting operations in Navi Mumbai in two months.

By 2010, from 12 operations now, the healthcare provider wants to take its number to 35-40 facilities across India. To acquire a pan-India image, the private healthcare provider is focusing on three strategies - to set up greenfield projects, acquire an existing facility or management contract. So to achieve 40 facilities by 2010,

Fortis would follow the greenfield and acquisition strategy in metros and Tier 1 cities and take management contract route in Tier 2 cities, the source noted. The company is also keen to make its debut in health insurance and waiting for the government to relax rules.

"When the market opens, Fortis will enter the health insurance business, too," the source said. On Friday the company, made a private placement of 6 million shares at Rs 145 to Trinity Eight, a US fund of Trikona Capital. In December, Fortis had made a private placement of two million shares at Rs 135 to UK-based Metdist Group and two million shares at Rs 135 to Trikona Capital.