Vietnam opens $6.5mn Italy-funded medical facility to boost healthcare capacity

The seven-story building, with a total investment of VND171.9 billion (US$6.5 million), includes a 5.6-million-euro ($6.5 million) concessional loan from Italy.

The facility provides more than 11,600 square meters of floor space for training, research and clinical services at the university hospital, officials said at the ceremony attended by Italy’s ambassador to Vietnam, Marco Della Seta, and representatives of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.

The project also supplied equipment valued at more than 1.11 million euros ($1.3 million) to the hospital and the school’s Institute of Biomedical Sciences, including laboratory systems, operating-room devices, and infection-control equipment.

Vietnam and Italy have cooperated for nearly 25 years on medical training, including sending four doctoral students and 19 master’s students to the University of Sassari in Italy and conducting professional exchanges and joint workshops.

University rector Nguyen Vu Quoc Huy said the new facility will expand high-quality medical services for patients in Hue and Vietnam’s central region and strengthen training and research capacity at the institution.