Major Hospital Project Starts in Kabul with Chinese Aid

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, August 02, 2003

Major Hospital Project Starts in Kabul with Chinese Aid

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A major hospital renovation project funded by the Chinese government kicked off Saturday in Kabul, with officials hailing it a symbol of the continuation of the age-old friendship between the two neighbors.

The project, with a cost of 4.35 million US dollars, will reconstruct and expand the Republic Hospital in Kabul, one of the biggest hospitals in the country, and equip it with a complete setof modern medical facilities within one year.

The 250-bed hospital, badly damaged by factional fighting during the civil war in 1990s, is currently in a poor state and urgently needs rehabilitation, an official from the Afghan Public Health Ministry said.

Calling the hospital project a big event for post-war Afghanistan's health sector, Vice-President Namatullah Sharani said the friendly relations between Afghanistan and China could date back to the ancient Silk Road period.

"China helps us honestly and kindly, and it is a good neighbor with whom we never have any disputes," he said at an inaugural ceremony at the project side in downtown Kabul.

"We still remember the Chinese help for the implementation of several assistance projects in the past, such as the Bagrami Textile Factory, Parwan irrigation project and the Kandahar Hospital," the vice-president said, referring to the Chinese-aidedprojects in Afghanistan decades ago.

Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Sun Yuxi said on the occasionthat the hospital renovation project is a full indication of the concerns and support of the Chinese government and people to Afghanistan.

The ambassador promised his embassy's full support for the hospital project, which will be carried out by China National Complete Plant Import and Export Corporation (COMPLANT).

"After one year, we will see a completely new and modern hospital here," he said. "It will be an eternal symbol of the friendship between China and Afghanistan."

The project is the first major part of the aid package of 150 million dollars pledged by China for Afghanistan's post-war reconstruction process after the ouster of the Taliban in 2001.

Work under the project includes renovation of the four-story main building in the hospital, construction of two new buildings and installation of all the furniture and equipment, including theCT scan system, X-ray system and a central air-conditioned operation theater.

China will also provide assistance in training Afghan staff to operate the state-of-art medical instrument to be equipped in the hospital after the renovation project, according to an official ofthe Chinese Embassy here.

Possibility of sending a team of Chinese medical experts to practice in the hospital is also under consideration, the official said.

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