The Hanoi-based NTC group broke ground for the construction of a medical diagnosis centre in the Lao capital city of Vientiane on May 30.

Prominent among the guests at the groundbreaking ceremony were Lao Health Minister Ponmek Dalaloy and Vietnamese Minister Counsellor in charge of economic affairs of the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos Tran Manh Cuong.

The 800,000 USD project included a four-storey building equipped with a computerised tomography scanner, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, radiology technology and other modern medical equipment. It is scheduled to be completed within nine months.

Addressing the ceremony, the Lao Health Minister underlined the significance of the centre, which he said would support the government's goal of a healthier population, while reducing people’s travel time to get their symptoms diagnosed.

This was the first step towards a fully modernised health system and a symbol of the comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam , he said./.