Foundation stone laid for Sino-Bangladesh joint venture hospital, medical college

PANCHAGARH, Bangladesh, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The construction of a China-Bangladesh joint venture medical college and hospital started formally in northern Bangladesh on Saturday.

Laying the foundation stone for North Point Medical College and Hospital (NPMCH), Bangladeshi Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi expressed hope that the hospital would be an exemplary health sector project, benefiting people from the country and in the region.

With an investment of 25 billion Bangladeshi takas (around 250 million U.S. dollars), this medical college and hospital "is one of the largest health sector foreign investment projects in Bangladesh," Munshi told Xinhua on the project site in Bangladesh's northern Panchagarh district, 468 km away from the capital Dhaka.

"I believe that the joint venture hospital will develop into a model project, encouraging other industries," said Munshi, thanking China's support for Bangladesh's mega infrastructure development.

Speaking at the ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen said he felt proud that Chinese nationals and companies paid high attention to the health care of Bangladesh people, as nothing is closer to people's hearts than healing the dying and wounded.

The Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh will extend full cooperation in establishing the medical college and hospital, which would pave the way for creating employment and development of infrastructure and other facilities in the region.

He said Chinese investments in Bangladesh have so far created 1 million job opportunities in the country.

Mazharul Haque Prodhan, member of parliament from Panchagarh, said they believe that the construction of the NPMCH would benefit the locals in terms of employment, infrastructure and other facilities.

Md Taufiq Hasan, project director of the NPMCH, told Xinhua that the project would employ 3,000 people directly and thousands of others indirectly by bringing in health sector veterans worldwide.

The NPMCH project's Bangladeshi partner, managing director HM Jahangir Alam Rana, told Xinhua that the NPMCH is aimed to deliver advanced tertiary-level medical care of international standards to the people of Bangladesh.

The hospital will start operation in the first phase and the medical college in the second phase of the project, he said.

He said the joint venture sends a very strong signal to Chinese investors that they are welcome to invest in Bangladesh where the potential is tremendous and projects are profitable.