Alcon Victor group to invest Rupees 130 crore in health, hospitality

Panaji, April 24 : The Goa-based Alcon Victor group has embarked a plan to open a 5-star deluxe hotel in franchise agreement with the Carlson Hotels Worldwide with Rupees 100 crore investment besides opening a state-of-the-art multi-speciality hospital specialising on geriatrics at a cost of Rupees 30 crore in the next two years.

These diversification projects would propel the turnover of the group to Rs 150 crore per annum from 2012 as against the current Rs 100 crore, 70 per cent of which constitutes foreign exchange through its existing three hospitality ventures and the Apollo-Victor hospital in Goa. Three hundred more staff would be added to the existing 1200.

Disclosing this to a select mediapersons here today, the group's CMD Victor M Albuquerque said he had already signed the franchise agreement with Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific Region Director Jean-Marc Busata recently for the new venture, 'Raddison Resort Goa', with 170 rooms and all modern facilities opening by this year end at Cavelossim in South Goa.

The unique feature of the venture, apart from luxurious spa, fountains and lush gardens, would be a micro brewery pub to serve fresh beer to the customers like in Germany and other countries, for the first time in Goa.The equippment would be imported from China and the hops from Germany/Czech republic.

The Goa government has to frame excise rules to facilitate setting up of the micro brewery on the likes of UP and Haryana to facilitate the unique venture, he said.

The proposed super-speciality hospital would focus more on treatment of dementia and alzhymers' disease the incidence of which had been rampant but not so visible in Goa.

Apart from serving the need for training the para-medical staff, the hospital would promote medical tourism in the state.

Efforts were underway to have a tie-up with well established pharmaceutical companies for investment for the superspeciality hospital even as the government has been pursued for necessary permisions for the venture to come up up near Panjim city by 2011-12.

It might be recalled that the group, apart from having the allopathic hospital in tie up with Apollo group, had already established Devaaya in picturesque Divar Islands in North Goa to provide alternative cure through Ayurveda for various disorders. It had been attracting a large number of foreigners.