NIAMEY, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Niger President Mahamdou Issoufou on Tuesday morning inaugurated the Niamey General Referral Hospital which was a donation from China.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by China's ambassador to Niger Shi Hu, as well as the head of Niger's Parliament Ousseini Tini, heads of public institutions, ministers, members of parliament and representatives of diplomatic corps in Niamey.
Issoufou said the facility with capacity of 500 beds is the largest and most modern referral hospital in West Africa.
The hospital whose construction cost 40 billion CFA Francs (over 68 million U.S. dollars), was built on a 16 hectares piece of land in northern Niamey, for the benefit of Nigeriens and people from neighbouring countries.
The hospital will be able to provide all services, including emergency, cardiology, 16 operation rooms, laboratory, blood bank, imaging and hospitalization.
It will equally serve as a medical training center and will provide both in-patient and out-patient services.
Niger's Public Health Minister Kalla Moutari said the treatment costs at the hospital will be subsidized. This is expected to reduce the annual medical cost for Niger which spends over 5 billion CFA Francs to evacuate patients to foreign countries.
At the moment, Sino-Niger cooperation covers a wide range of sectors, from politics, economics, energy, culture, security and infrastructure.
Other projects funded by China include General Seyni Kountche stadium, various roads, the second bridge on river Niger, the water project in Zinder as well as schools and training equipment in the health sector.
