Thaindian News

Ahmedabad, Oct 22 (IANS) Bangalore based Narayana Hrudayalaya hospital will set up a medical college in Gujarat on an investment of Rs.2.5 billion ($507 million).A 1,500 bed hospital is planned as part of the project that will come up in the state capital Ahmedabad.

Chandil Kumar, medical administrator of the hospital, told IANS: “We are working on the project and focusing on getting necessary approvals.”

A fact sheet brought out by the Gujarat government ahead of January 2009 Vibrant Gujarat Summit said the Bangalore hospital’s project is part of the special effort being made to expand medical education facilities in the state.

Government sources said the state has begun to attract investments including foreign on a substantial scale.

According to state data, there are currently 42,285 registered doctors and 17,751 trained nurses in Gujarat.

The fact sheet says besides Narayana Hrudayalaya, medical colleges are also being planned by the Fortis group, Bombay Hospitals and the Artemis Group of Hospitals belonging to Apollo Tyres Limited.

Artemis has proposed to set up a Rs.5 billion medical education hub on the Vadodara-Ahmedabad highway.

The Bombay Hospitals belonging to the Reliance Group is joining hands with MS Hospital in Vadodara to establish a medical institute that will offer both under- and post- graduate medical courses.

Apart from these new projects, expansion projects are also on the anvil.

The Ahmedabad-based Sterling Addlife India Limited which is running a multi-specialty hospital in the city is planning to invest Rs.7 billion to set up a 150-bed hospital in Surat, 125-bed hospital in Rajkot and 100-bed hospital in the Mundra Special Economic Zone.

The Healthcare group (HCG) of Banglaore has already set up a multi-specialty hospital in Ahmedabad at a cost of Rs.1 billion.