MPIC earmarks P350 million for upgrade of Lourdes Hospital

MANILA, Philippines - Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) has forged an agreement to manage and operate Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, budgeting at least P350 million in capital expenditures for the facilities upgrade of the Sta. Mesa-based hospital over the next five years.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, MPIC executive director and head of the hospital group Augie Palisoc Jr. said the 230-bed Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital would be the fifth in the group’s growing healthcare portfolio of approximately 1,600 beds.

Under the agreement, East Manila Hospital Managers Corp. (EMHMC), a wholly-owned unit of MPIC, will oversee the hospital’s operations for a period of 20 years beginning Nov. 1, 2010 following the expected seamless transfer of management by the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS) congregation.

Palisoc said this move represents “another step forward in our vision to establish a nationwide chain of quality hospitals in the Philippines.”

MPIC’s healthcare portfolio also includes Makati Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, Davao Doctors Hospital and Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod.

Last year, the healthcare business contributed P174 million to MPIC’s total net income. The group is training its sights on other hospitals nationwide in its bid to build the biggest chain of healthcare institutions in the country with a bed capacity of at least 3,000.

Palisoc earlier said the group was looking at establishing a nationwide network of 10 hospitals and hit the P1-billion income mark in the near term.