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Rating agency Icra has said private hospital chains are expected add over 30,000 beds at an investment of Rs 32,500 crore in the country over the next four to five years. It expects the aggregate occupancy for its sample set companies to remain healthy at 64-65 per cent in FY24 backed by sustained healthy demand for healthcare services, continued market share gains for organised players and revival in medical tourism after the pandemic.

ICRA Assistant Vice President & Sector Head Mythri Macherla said metro cities are expected to remain focal points for this capacity expansion. Mythri said centres such as Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru are expected to witness sizeable bed additions in the next few years.

She said in addition to setting up new greenfield and brownfield facilities to enhance their capacities, hospital chains are also looking at inorganic opportunities, which have led to increasing consolidation in the industry in the last two years. She added Mergers and acquisitions aid hospital chains in diversifying their geographic reach and/or speciality mix in addition to increasing their scale of operations.