Leading private hospital companies like Apollo, Fortis and Wockhardt are set to enter the fray for managing two super-speciality hospitals built by the Delhi government. This is perhaps the first instance of its kind in the country where the state has decided to rope in private outfits to run the hospitals in a partnership.
The two hospitals have been set up by the government in Tahirpur in east Delhi and Janakpuri in western part of the capital city. Construction of the 300-bed Janakpuri hospital is complete, while the other facility is nearing completion.
Over 20 private hospital companies from across the country participated in a pre-bid meeting with the government earlier this week, a Delhi health department official told Business Standard. “All major players from across the country have shown interest in participating in the bidding to acquire the operational and management rights of the two hospitals that have a combined bed strength of 900,” an official said.
“Representatives of hospitals like Apollo, Wockhardt, Fortis, Batra Hospital, Max Healthcare and Care Hospitals were among the participants who attended the pre-application meeting. However, they are yet to submit formal applications,” the official added.
Asked for his plans, Fortis Healthcare chairman and managing director Shivinder Mohan Singh said: “We are looking at them. It is too early to say if we will bid or not. The company runs 15 hospitals across the country.”
Apollo Hospitals group executive director Suneeta Reddy said the company “intends” to participate in the bidding. “We are pioneers in public-private partnerships in healthcare. The Indraprastha Apollo hospital in Delhi was amongst the first such projects in the country. We have successful models in other parts of the country as well,” Reddy said.
Once concluded, this would be the first instance of a state deciding to offload the operation and management of a hospital that it has built, to a private sector company. While estimates of how much the state government has spent on building these hospitals are not available, a similar effort by a private company would cost Rs 60 lakh per bed. With the two hospitals having 900 beds, a private sector project of this size would have required Rs 540 crore in investment.
More From This Section
The opportunity to acquire the management rights of these speciality hospitals is important, considering the high cost of greenfield healthcare projects. To ensure maximum participation, the state government is likely to extend the September 2 deadline for submission of bids by another two weeks.
“Both locations as well as the specialities are very attractive. The construction of the Janakpuri hospital is complete. The government has even installed some equipment there. The private players will show interest in the bidding process,” said Y P Bhatia, managing director, Astrol Hospital and Healthcare Consultants Private Ltd.