Aakash Healthcare forays into Uzbekistan

Aakash Healthcare on Wednesday announced its foray into the international markets with the acquisition of a hospital in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The healthcare provider, part of the Aakash Group which runs education centres across the country, has acquired a 50-bed operational hospital through an affiliate unit for USD 4 million with plans to invest around USD 10 million over a period of three years.

In an interaction with PTI, Aakash Healthcare Managing Director Aashish Chaudhry said the additional investment would go into upgrading the equipment, increase in bed capacity and other facilities in the hospital.

''We have already increased the bed strength from 30 to 50. We plan to further raise it to 75 beds, add critical equipment and other elements over the next six months entailing an investment of USD 2 million. Overall, we plan to invest USD 10 million and provide 200 direct jobs in the next three years,'' he noted.

The hospital will cater to not only the people in Uzbekistan but also to the neighbouring countries that also lack adequate healthcare infrastructure, Chaudhry said.

He noted that the hospital would help in treating many people in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) nations who otherwise have to travel to other countries including India to get required medical attention.

On an average, around 8,000 Uzbek nationals travel to India every year for medical treatment with the market size estimated to be around USD 30 million, Chaudhry said.

''Uzbekis majorly suffer from liver issues with a large portion of the population suffering from Hepatitis B and C. Patients come here for complex surgeries like liver transplants, neuro and orthopaedic procedures,'' he said.

''We aim to build an ecosystem of quality healthcare for Uzbek and nearby countries where quality healthcare is underdeveloped. We have been planning for this for the last three years and finally Aakash Healthcare LLC acquired our first overseas hospital, Asia Med Centre, in Tashkent. This is just the beginning, and we will go to other foreign locations in the future,'' Chaudhry said.

Aakash Healthcare, which runs a 230-bed hospital in Dwarka, will be focussing on mother and child, orthopaedics, liver and kidney diseases, among others at the Tashkent-based Aakash Healthcare Multispecialty Hospital which is scheduled to be formally inaugurated on November 23.