Wockhardt launches Mumbai tertiary care hospital, next stop at Delhi.

Five years after it sold 10 of its hospitals, Wockhardt Hospitals took a significant step by opening a 350-bed hospital in South Mumbai.

At an estimated Rs. 300 crore, the tertiary care hospital bundles major specialities including cardiac and critical care. Two more hospitals are on Wockhardt's radar in Delhi and another in suburban Mumbai, Habil Khorakiwala, founder Chairman of the Wockhardt Group said.

Funds for this would be raised internally, he said, adding that the Delhi hospital was expected to take another two years to operationalise.

Wockhardt Hospitals had in 2009 sold 10 of its hospitals to Fortis Healthcare for over Rs. 900 crore, leaving the Mumbai-based group with about seven hospitals. The sale was to help retire Wockhardt Hospitals' debt. In fact, the company was one of the first casualties of the economic meltdown in early 2008, when its plans to raise funds were felled by a volatile stockmarket.

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