NEW DELHI : HSCC, a public sector unit under Health Ministry, has bagged a Rs 2,500 crore project to help build hospitals in Mauritius. Earlier known as Hospital Services Consultancy Corporation Ltd, HSCC is listed for disinvestment by the government and is likely to be merged or acquired by a suitor. The government is all set to sell out this ‘min ratna’ firm before year end, to meet its disinvestment target of Rs 72,500 crore during 2017-18.“The government’s decision to undertake M&A is a wise decision. But, our experience of 35 years in hospital consultancy is unique and should be preserved and further developed, even after the merger,” Gyanesh Pandey, chairman and managing director, HSCC told Express.
One argument is that the firm has significantly improved its revenues in the last five years -- from bagging just Rs 5 crore worth of projects, the firm has turned around under Pandey and, as on date, has more than Rs 18,000 crore worth projects for execution. “On an average, our company is doing projects worth Rs 1500 crore and our architects are sought after in the medical infrastructure development field,” said Pandey.
Last year, three AIIMS project were awarded to HSCC -- one each in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal. Each of these projects is estimated to earn a revenue of Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,700 crore for the company. “Our Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in the last five years is 33-34 per cent. The cost of projects we do has gone up from Rs 100 crore to Rs 1300 crore, despite constraints in manpower... It was my dream that HSCC should have some project work in each city of India,” he said. Pandey is also confident that the Mauritius project will be completed on time, with plans to source top technical professionals both from India and in Mauritius.
According to Pandey, Indian project management and design engineering consultancies are some of the best in the world. For the current project, detailing and conceptualization is being done in India, but HSCC is developing it according to Mauritius norms. “In the next 2-3 months, we will recruit people in India and appoint an agency in Mauritius to undertake the execution,” says Pandey.
An agreement in this regard was signed between HSCC and the Ministry of Health & Quality of Life of Mauritius appointing HSCC as Project Management Consultant for nine hospitals in the country. The agreement was signed by Girish Gunesh, Senior Chief Executive, Ministry of Health & Quality Life, Govt. of Mauritius and Pandey.