PUBLICLY listed Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is adding more than 400 beds to its chain of hospitals in the country on the back of the growing health-care market.
Through Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings Inc., MPIC President and CEO Augusto P. Palisoc Jr. told the on BusinessMirror they are on track to hit such numbers given recent acquisitions and ongoing developments of existing hospitals.
Total bed capacity could reach to 2,500 by the end of the year, Palisoc said.
“But each of our hospitals are actually undergoing their own expansion programs. So I think pretty soon it will increase to around 2,700.” Palisoc said expansion would include the official opening of the 110-bed West Metro Medical Center in Zamboanga City and its upcoming expansion to 190 beds, making it the biggest private hospital in the Zamboanga peninsula.
Both the Makati Medical Center and Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod, on the other hand, are in the process of adding 50 and 70 beds, respectively, he added.
Beyond capacity growth, Palisoc revealed the company is currently in discussions with other hospitals in the country to invest in.
“We have yet to close these deals,” he said. “We still don’t know which one will come into fruition soon.”
Looking forward, he said the MPIC aims to penetrate other emerging cities nationwide, particularly Cebu and Iloilo.
MPIC has nine hospitals to date with the largest capacity at 2,244 beds. These include the De Los Santos Medical Center, Makati Medical Center, Davao Doctors Hospital, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, Riverside Medical Center, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Asian Hospital, Central Luzon Doctors’ Hospital and West Metro Medical Center in Zamboanga City.