Construction starts on respiratory disease center

Construction began on Guangzhou's first center for respiratory disease on July 7, to provide better patient care and training across the city.

The Guangzhou Center of Respiratory Disease (GCRD) will be based in Datansha of Liwan district and cost nearly 2 billion yuan ($290 million).

An artist's impression of what the Guangzhou Center of Respiratory Disease will look like once completed. [Photo/gd.people.com.cn]

Covering 194,000 square meters, the center will integrate the functions of a hospital, a training base, a translational medicine center and a laboratory. It is expected to open in December 2019.

The project was proposed on April 15, 2014 and was listed in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) for Guangzhou National Economic and Social Development on March 16, 2016.

A rendering shows the main building of Guangzhou Center of Respiratory Disease. [Photo/gd.people.com.cn]

Zhong Nanshan, a renowned Chinese pulmonologist, said that center will help to push forward medical development in the Guangdong province capital.

"The GCRD project is a magnificent feat for Guangdong province and Guangzhou to develop biomedicine," Zhong said. "The province can take the lead in creative development featuring treatment, teaching and research of respiratory diseases."

Zhong has long advocated the construction of a specialized treatment center and training base for respiratory disease.

Zhong Nanshan, a renowned Chinese pulmonologist gives an interview at the launch ceremony of the GCRD project. [Photo/gd.people.com.cn]

Once completed, the GCRD will not only solve the problem of a lack of premium medical resources in the western part of Guangzhou, but promote medical cohesion while enhancing regional integration in Guangzhou and Foshan.