In a first, CBRE South Asia has released a report on India’s healthcare sector which shows that India’s healthcare sector will require 1.3 billion sq ft space by 2030. The growth, the report explains, will be driven by emerging healthcare trends like heath-retail outlets apart from regular facilities.
The report titled: ‘The Evolving Indian Healthcare Ecosystem; What It Means for the Real Estate Sector', shows a strong infrastructure disparity in India in the healthcare space. It shows that India has one of the lowest bed-to-population ratios in the world, which is “indicative of the infrastructure gap as well as the scope for growth of this segment”. The report ran an analysis to identify this growth potential to understand how much real estate space hospitals would require to ensure an equitable distribution of health services in the country by 2030.
“The growing incidence of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, and the COVID-19 pandemic have helped identify the challenges that exist in terms of infrastructure and flexibility to cater to sudden influx of patients and capacity building. Most of these challenges existed prior to the pandemic, but have come now come to greater focus. However, the growing levels of awareness towards these challenges and the will to address them have led to an improved policy and spending scenario on the government’s part and widening private sector participation,” the report says.
Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO - India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE, said, “Healthcare in India is being driven by rising income levels, growing health awareness, better access to medical insurance amidst increasing government spending on healthcare, an aging population and the changing nature of epidemiology. COVID-19 underlined the importance of this segment, thereby amplifying investor interest. The pandemic has highlighted the need for telehealth, health-tech, deeper -penetration of medical insurance, the rise of quality home healthcare services, focus on patient experience and hospital environment, and transition from disease cure to prevention and wellness.”
The report also highlights the implications of the expanding healthcare segment on the real-estate supply chain which includes a demand for an additional 1.3 billion sq. ft space to match the global bed to population standards. It predicts that due to specific storage needs of life-saving pharmaceuticals and vaccines, the demand for warehouse spaces too will grow manifold.
One of the emerging trends that are likely to drive an expansion of healthcare real estate consumption, predicts the report, is in the space of medical retail. An increasing trend of med-tail or medical retail will also expand the scope for consumption of more space by medial real-estate, suggests the study. This includes aesthetic dermatology, dental treatment, and other services.
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