Vietnam Hanoi to Build $143.74M General Hospital This Year

Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi plans to build a general hospital in the third quarter of 2011 with an estimated investment of over VND3 trillion ($143.74 million) in a bid to ease burden to local hospitals which are all overloaded. Covering an area of 12.1 hectares in Me Linh outlying district, the 1,000-sickbed facility is aimed to meet the rising demand for medical checkups and treatment of local residents, the Dat Viet newspaper reported Mar 17. The municipal health department has been urged to choose the location and complete related procedures for the construction by the second quarter. The project is slated for completion in 2015, the department added. Hanoi is facing a severe overload and environmental pollution with 16 health facilities in four inner districts of Hoan Kiem, Dong Da, Hai Ba Trung and Ba Dinh. To deal with the problem, the government asked Hanoi authorities to move health centers out of the inner city to reduce traffic jams and social issues as part of efforts to improve living conditions of locals. (Dat Viet – National Land Mar 17 p2)