India’s top healthcare chain Apollo Hospitals has entered Bangladesh by executing a brand licensing, operation and management agreement with World Bank-funded Imperial Hospital Ltd.Under the deal, Apollo will get a fixed management fee and a share of the overall revenue by operating the 375-bed hospital in Chittagong, founded by Rabiul Husain.

The 10-year contract, which is auto renewable, is going to start from July and expected to provide secondary and some of the tertiary care treatments to local patients. The hospital’s name will bear the Apollo name after the transformation.“Many patients from Bangladesh come to India for treatment.

However, there is a lot of cost associated with travelling. We hope with this hospital, some of the patients would not have to travel as they would get the same care and treatment as they would have got in Apollo in India,” Prathap C Reddy, chairman of Apollo Hospitals Ltd, said after the two parties formally inked the agreement in Chennai on Monday.

Government records suggest that about 6,000 patients come to India from Bangladesh for tertiary care procedures. Bengal is one of the biggest beneficiaries of medical tourism from that country. Some of the patients would still be coming to India despite the new set-up as high-end treatment would continue to be available here, Apollo officials suggest.While the partnership is starting off with a management contract, the agreement between the two parties envisages Apollo picking up a stake in Imperial Hospital at a later date.

“Our initial goal is to make the operation self-sustaining and to see it turn profitable,” said Dinesh Madhavan, president, group oncology and international, Apollo Hospitals.Husain, an ophthalmologist by training, expressed hope that Apollo would be able to train doctors, nurses and technicians in Bangladesh.

“I hope patients would get the same treatment in our hospital in Chittagong that they get in Apollo hospitals in India.” Under the agreement with Imperial, Apollo Hospitals shall manage the day-to-day operations and clinical service delivery, utilising their clinical and managerial capabilities, a statement from Apollo said.Bangladesh is one of the many opportunities Apollo is pursuing abroad.

The hospital chain has a presence in 25 countries such as the UK, Mauritius, Egypt, Barbados, Vietnam, Fiji Island, Bahrain and Nigeria with upcoming projects in Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, Cameroon, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Samoa.