Seven Hills Hospital set to reopen under PPP model after 8 years
Mumbai- In a major development, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to reopen Seven Hills Hospital under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model after it remained closed for over eight years.
As part of the process, two entities, Capri Global Holdings Private Limited and Jupiter Private Hospitals Private Limited, entered as potential resolution applicants. Subsequently, the BMC constituted a body to finalise the financial terms for the revival of the hospital.
Meanwhile, the BMC is set to present a proposal before the Civic Improvements Committee on May 20 (Wednesday), where the appointment of the contractor will be finalised.
According to the proposal, the BMC will lease the 66,000-square-meter Seven Hills Hospital to a bidder for a period of 30 years at an annual rent of ₹10 crore, subject to a uniform increase of 1 percent every 10 years.
The proposal also states that once the hospital becomes operational, 20 percent of the total 1,500 beds available in the hospital will be reserved for patients referred from various civil hospitals.
The patients admitted to these beds will be charged at municipal rates, and this 20 percent quota will also apply to patients availing of OPD services.
Furthermore, the proposal also stated that, over time, the property tax arrears owed by the hospital had ballooned to a staggering sum of ₹140.88 crore.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior civic official stated that the condition of the hospital is currently very poor, as it has not undergone any maintenance or repairs for over five years. Consequently, the selected bidder will invest at least ₹400 crore to upgrade the existing infrastructure; this will entail not only the retrofitting of the building but also the procurement of all modern equipment.
The BMC has selected Capri Global Holdings Private Limited as the frontrunner to operate this hospital, which has been shut down since 2018.
