Vientiane, Nov 12 (IANS): The handover ceremony of the first phase of the China-aided Mahosot General Hospital Project was held here.

Speaking at the ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Laos Jiang Zaidong said the successful completion and handover of the first phase of the project, including the new ward building and the building for treating infectious diseases, has become another fruitful achievement of the bilateral friendly cooperation in the health sector, Xinhua news agency reported.

Jiang expressed the hope that while promoting the construction of the second phase of the hospital project, both sides will strive to kick off another China-aided upgrade project for the Luang Prabang Hospital in northern Laos as soon as possible.

The Luang Prabang Hospital project will facilitate people in remote areas of Laos to enjoy quality medical services, better health safeguard and local economic development, Jiang added.

Lao Health Minister Bounfeng Phoummalaysith hailed the Mahosot General Hospital Project with grant from Chinese government and people as a major cooperation project between the two countries.

The Chinese side has helped Laos build the modern hospital, provided advanced medical equipment and held training courses to improve the medical standards in Laos, especially in the capital city of Vientiane, said the Lao Minister.

He added that the Lao side will continue to facilitate the timely completion of the second phase of the Mahosot General Hospital Project.

Han Xu, Head of the project's technical team with Beijing Uni-Construction Group Co. Ltd. (BUCC), said that in the past three years, the BUCC has successfully completed the first phase of the project after overcoming the hurdle of constrained space for construction and the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With professionalism and an even more hard-working spirit, his team will make the second phase of the project another success, Han added.

As a landmark project in China-Laos cooperation in public welfare, the China-aided health project includes the expansion of the existing Mahosot Hospital in Vientiane and the construction of new in-house medical facilities, with a construction area of approximately 54,000 square metres to hold 600 beds.