Hanoi’s Department of Health announced on August 22 that it will restart the project to upgrade Saint Paul Hospital later this month, after it has been suspended for more than a year.

The department’s Director, Nguyen Khac Hien, said that the upgrading of the hospital, which was built during the French colonial rule over 100 years ago, will be carried out in line with the current building regulations.

The structure of the new building, the internal ward, will by no means change the previous purpose of treating patients, including parishioners, he noted.

After taking the aspirations of the Hanoi Archdiocese into consideration, the municipal People’s Committee insisted that the hospital’s architectural structure must remain the same to preserve the religious symbols on show, said Hien.

The project will see the upgrading of wings A1 and B, the hospital’s grounds, walkways, gates, fences and the general infrastructure, including gas supply and communication systems. The gable end of the old two-storey internal ward building with the cross on the roof will now become the reception area for a new four-storey building.

With over 900 staff, Saint Paul is one of the four first-class general hospitals in Hanoi, annually providing check-ups and treatments for nearly 300,000 patients and birthing over 100 babies every day./.