B.P. Poddar group to invest Rs 250 cr in healthcare initiatives

Kolkata: The Rs300 crore B P Poddar Group, which has interests in sectors such as real estate, education, steel and healthcare, has unveiled plans to invest Rs250 crore in various healthcare initiatives over the next couple of years.

The proposed investment corpus would be generated by way of promoters'' contribution and debt, according to Arun Poddar, chairman of the B.P. Poddar group of companies.

Speaking to newspersons at a function held here to announce the launch of the "hub-and-spoke concept" in healthcare in Kolkata, Poddar said the group had already invested Rs60 crore in a 220-bed, multi-speciality hospital at New Alipore in Kolkata. This facility would act as a hub for the "spoke concept" clinics that would be set up throughout West Bengal. The first of these "spoke" clinics has just been inaugurated in the central business district of Kolkata at an investment of around Rs5 crore.

About 4-5 such "spokes" would be set up in and around Kolkata in 1-2 years.

According to him, the group proposes to invest a further amount of Rs250 crore on healthcare and related fields over the next two years. Plans in this regard include the setting up of another 100-bed hospital and a chain of clinics. The group has also proposed to set up a medical college, a dental college and a college of nursing and paramedics. The proposed medical college is expected to be operational within the next three years.