Apollo Hospitals to add 1,000 beds; eyes Northeast.

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. (AHEL) is planning to add around 1,000 beds across eight hospitals in 2014-15, as works on them were in progress.

AHEL is planning to invest around Rs. 500 crore during the current fiscal, through a mix of debt and internal accruals. It also said it was open to inorganic growth in Northeast India. Announcing its financial results for the quarter ended on March 31, 2014, the company said it added over 300 bed in 2013-2014.

The expansion plan includes the 200-bed hospital at Nellore and the 150-bed hospital in South Chennai. Both these facilities are expected to go on stream during the second quarter of the current fiscal, said Suneeta Reddy, joint managing director of AHEL.

She added the 125-bed hospital at Nasik, 200-bed facility at Mellavaram and a 250-bed facility at Vizag are expected to go on stream in the second half of current fiscal.

BS