Piramal Enterprises Ltd has signed a 50:50 joint venture agreement with , the largest provider of healthcare services in the UK, for introducing "one-stop" health facilities in India. The agreement was signed between Ajay Piramal, chairman, Piramal Enterprises, and Andrew Kielty, managing director, BUPA Asia.

The new company – BUPA Piramal Healthcare Limited – will have an initial investment of Rs 14 crore and Ajay Piramal will be its chairman. The company will provide a full spectrum of primary care and diagnostic facilities with comprehensive computerised medical records.

The first such hospital, called Wellspring, is being built at Lower Parel, in Mumbai, and is likely to be commissioned in the later part of October 1999. The hospital, spread over 40,000 sq.ft, will provide state-of-the-art ambulatory care facilities for a variety of medical consultations with general practitioners, consulting physicians, cardiologists, gynaecologists, paediatricians, dentists, orthopaedicians, ophthalmologists, dermatologists, nephrologists, diabetologists, and physio and speech therapists. It will also offer the most modern and technologically advanced facilities for diagnostics, pathology and radiology.

The hospital will also house a comprehensive pharmacy outlet for dispensing medicines and for providing advisory services. Besides regular medicines, the pharmacy will stock life-saving medicines that have to be imported. Another feature of this health facility is a 3,200 sq.ft sports gymnasium, and a sports science complex supported by doctors. The land for the upcoming hospital has been leased from Piramal Holdings Pvt. Ltd.

"BUPA is one of the world’s best and highly respected organisations in healthcare management, and the partnership will enhance our goal to seek the best in class in our efforts to grow our healthcare business," says Ajay Piramal, chairman of the Rs 1,800-crore Piramal Enterprises. According to David Boyle, managing director of BUPA New Businesses, "BUPA is delighted to make its entry into the Indian market and we hope that we are able to bring some of our experience as a market leader in the UK to bear in India.

BUPA and Piramal are targeting the corporate sector by offering convenient packages in the form of annual executive health check-ups, pre-employment health screening, subscriptions to gymnasium facilities, etc.

Piramal Enterprises is the holding company of Ajay Piramal’s various businesses. The total turnover of the group is Rs 1,800 crore.