Real estate firm Assotech today announced its entry into the healthcare sector with an investment of Rs 150 crore to develop a hospital with 400 beds at Patna, in Bihar. The hospital, Medilifecare Multispeciality Hospital, is expected to open to the public by 2012-end, Assotech Managing Director Sanjeev Srivastva said.
"Bihar needs a good healthcare sector so we have decided to fill the gap. It will be a tertiary sector (super speciality) hospital with the latest facilities," he said. Asked about the management of the hospital, he said Assotech will adopt a co-ownership model with doctors.
"While we will hold a 60 per cent stake in the hospital, the rest will be given to 15-20 doctors," he said. On the funding of the project, Srivastva said two-thirds of the investment will be met through bank loans and the remaining from the promoters, which includes Assotech and the partner doctors.
He said setting up the hospital will help generate direct and indirect employment for over 5,000 people in Bihar. Srivastva said Assotech is looking at setting up more healthcare facilities in the city, considering the massive requirement of hospitals.
"We are looking at more plots in Patna for setting up hospitals and also medical colleges and nursing colleges to meet the human resource requirement," he said. The company held the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the Medilifecare Multispeciality Hospital earlier this week.
He said the company decided to diversify into healthcare as it has identified the sector "as one of its key areas of growth for the next decade."
At present, Noida-based Assotech is developing a number of projects in the National Capital Region (NCR), Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Uttaranchal, comprising 40 lakh sq ft of built up area.
