Birla Group To Set Up Two Hospitals In WB

Joy Roy Choudhury

After emerging as the leading healthcare centre in Kolkata, the BM Birla Heart Research Centre in collaboration with CMRI Hospital has finally planned to set up two hospitals in West Bengal.

The GP/CK Birla Group has also bid for a super-speciality cardiac hospital project at Rajarhat on the outskirts of the city.

Confirming the development to Express Healthcare Management, Rupak Barua, Director (Growth & Development), BM Birla-CMRI combine said, "We have finalised plans for setting up two 100-bed hospitals in Siliguri and Haldia at a capital outlay of nearly Rs 20 crore for each project."

To be set up on the lines of CMRI, both the hospitals will be multi-speciality units. “The work on the Haldia project is likely to commence soon,” he added. Haldia Development Authority, the agency involved for the development of the industrial town of Haldia has provided land for the proposed project.

"Though land for the project in Siliguri has not been finalised yet, we are holding talks with the Ambuja Group and Siliguri-Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) for a suitable land for the project," he said. Meanwhile, the Group has been shortlisted by the State Government owned West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) for setting up a super-speciality cardiac hospital at New Town, Rajarhat. The other two in the fray are Bangalore-based Manipal Hospitals and an NRI consortium. "The Government is at present examining the proposals of all the three parties and will be informing us about their decision shortly," Barua said.

“If the Group is given the mandate to set up the hospital then it will require an investment of about Rs 80 crore,” he added.

The GP/CK Birla Group has also firmed up investment plans to the tune of Rs 15 crore for technological upgradation of its existing hospitals in Kolkata.