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Deputy managing director Chaisit Kupwiwat yesterday said it was constructing a nine-storey building adjacent to the existing hospital on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road. The building, which will be completed next year, will serve both inpatients and outpatients.

Vibhavadi purchased land worth Bt150 million last year for the new building, whose construction cost is about Bt400 million.

He said Vibhavadi currently served 1,100 outpatients daily, while its capacity was for 2,000 people. After the expansion, it will be able to serve 3,000 outpatients per day.

The other investment project is at Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate in Chon Buri, where Vibharam Hospital - in which Vibhavadi holds a 50-per-cent stake - plans to create a 250-bed hospital. The project value is about Bt500 million.

Construction is expected to start next year. The earlier plan was to start building this year, but this was delayed due mainly to the economic downturn.

About 60 per cent of the two projects' financing will come from Vibhavadi's cash flow, and the remainder from loans.

Chaisit said Vibhavadi expected its revenue this year to grow by 5 per cent from Bt1.11 billion in 2008. The company's annual growth is usually 10-15 per cent.

"Our inpatient numbers in the first four months of the year dropped from the same period last year. The bed occupancy rate during the period fell from an average of 60-70 per cent to 40 per cent. This is because some clients saved on their healthcare expenses amid the crisis this year, and some shifted to state hospitals," he said.

Meanwhile, Vibhavadi yesterday announced it had joined with Thai Smart Card to launch the Vibhavadi Smart Purse, which is a member card as well as a digital cash card.

Cardholders can use the Vibhavadi Smart Purse at Vibhavadi Hospital and shops, restaurants and bookstores that accept Thai Smart Cards.

Chalermchai Chatchaiganan, chief commercial officer and chief operations officer of Thai Smart Card, said Vibhavadi was the first hospital with which it had cooperated in its four years of operation. This is the first step in Thai Smart Card's penetration of the healthcare sector, he said.