Fortis Healthcare (India) today said it would start six new hospitals in southern and western India that could entail an investment of up to Rs 1,050 crore.
The expansion will increase the network's bed capacity by 1,400 beds to 9,700.
The hospitals will be set up in Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Indore and Jabalpur Fortis said in a statement.
"This announcement honours the '10 hospitals in 10 weeks' commitment that we made when Fortis celebrated its 10th anniversary a month ago," Fortis Healthcare (India) Chief Executive Officer Aditya Vij said.
Regarding the financials for opening of six hospitals a Fortis spokesperson said: "We cannot at this time share a precise figure on the investment that these six hospitals will entail. However, our experience tells us that the development of each hospital bed costs about Rs 65 lakh to Rs 75 lakh, on an average."
With the upper limit of Rs 75 lakh per bed, the new 1,400 beds would need an investment of Rs 1,050 crore.
The tertiary care hospital at Pune and super speciality hospital in Chennai would commence operations in 2012, while the hospital projects at Hyderabad and Indore are in an advanced stage of planning, Fortis said.
The hospital in Bangalore will be operational in early 2012 and will offer a medical programme focused on women under the 'Fortis La Femme' brand along with a urology centre, the company added.
The cardiac care centre at Jabalpur will provide interventional cardiology and cardiac surgery.
"The multi-speciality and super-speciality hospitals, whether greenfield, brownfield or operated & managed, will embrace international standards of healthcare services...," Vij said.
Shares of Fortis Healthcare (India) today closed at Rs 166 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), down 0.45% from its previous close.
