Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on December 6 attended a ceremony to commence construction on the Ho Chi Minh City Children Hospital in Binh Chanh district, which has a total investment of 4.5 trillion VND (roughly 211.5 million USD).

Covering an area of nearly 93,200 square meters, the 1,000-bed hospital will be equipped with facilities meeting regional standards, offering both in-patient and out-patient treatment. Once completed in 2016, it is expected to help ease the overload for central hospitals.

Addressing the event, PM Nguyen Tan Dung said the hospital, which will serve as a central hospital, is set to give high quality health care services for children from not only Ho Chi Minh City but also more than 20 localities in the south.

Together with the Children Hospitals 1 and 2, which are currently taking care of about 60 percent of total child patients in the southern region, the hospital should work closely with schools to perform the task of training and transferring technology to medical staff, he said.

The Government leader lauded the close coordination between the city and the Ministry of Health and other relevant agencies in enabling the project to be launched as planned.

He requested the investor, consultants and contractors to ensure the progress, quality and safety of the project while assigning the city and its Health Department to prepare human resources for the hospital.

As the southern socio-economic and cultural hub of the country has seen an increasing demand for health care services, the prompt construction of more hospitals, including the Cho Ray 2, Tumour Hospital and Orthopedic Hospital , is vital to the city, he stated.

The PM also asked HCM City to finalise preparations so that work on these three hospitals will be kicked off in 2015.-VNA