PRIME Minister Hun Sen has welcomed the construction of a new Cambodian- and Vietnamese-funded hospital in the city’s Meanchey district, saying it will boost the country’s health services and discourage patients from travelling abroad for medical treatment.

“We will not have to go or send our people to hospital in Vietnam once Cho Ray-Phnom Penh Hospital, a hospital of international standards, is constructed,” he said during a ceremony marking the groundbreaking of the US$42 million facility on Saturday.

The 500-bed hospital, funded jointly by Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City Medical Investment Joint Stock Company and local firm Sokimex, is to be built on a 5-hectare lot in Nirod commune.

According to a Sokimex representative who spoke at the ceremony, the hospital will be equipped with general treatment facilities, maternity wards, research facilities and an emergency department.

Minister of Health Mam Bunheng said the new hospital will be a perfect entry point for recent Cambodian medical graduates.

“This hospital needs hundreds of employees, including midwives, and it is a good opportunity for students who have just completed their midwife training,” he said.