THE Chinese government will soon build a state-of-the-art hospital known as the Maseru District Hospital and Eye Clinic Project that will act as a referral centre for patients and remove the need to transfer them to South Africa and other countries for special medical attention.

This was revealed at the ceremony dubbed the ‘Exchange of Letters on China Aid’ between the two governments at the Chinese embassy in Maseru. Construction will begin before year end.

Development Planning Minister Tlohelang Aumane represented government of Lesotho while China was represented by its ambassador to Lesotho, Sun Xianghua.

The ceremony was graced by the Deputy Prime Minister, Monyane Moleleki.

Maseru has been without a district hospital since the closure of Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in 2011, when Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital which is a referral hospital came into operation.

This resulted in the overcrowding of patients at Queen ‘Mamohato Hospital which compromised service delivery at the facility.

The new hospital will be built on the site of the Queen II hospital.