China invests US$40.5 million in Mozambique’s National Surgical Centre

The project, financed by the Government of the People’s Republic of China, represents an investment of around US$40.5 million, allocated to the construction and equipping of the new hospital unit. The infrastructure will be built within the grounds of Maputo Central Hospital and is expected to be completed within 24 months. The project includes an eight-storey building with capacity for 475 beds, including intensive care units, as well as 14 operating theatres and emergency services, imaging, laboratory facilities and other support areas.

At the laying of the first stone ceremony, President Daniel Chapo highlighted the importance of the project in consolidating the National Health System, arguing that Mozambicans should have access within their own country to highly complex medical and surgical treatments. The head of state said that, for decades, citizens requiring specialised procedures had been forced to seek treatment abroad, particularly in South Africa, Portugal and India, through medical referral boards, a practice that carries high costs for families and the State. According to the President, the National Surgical Centre aims to reverse this situation and allow Mozambican doctors trained and specialised abroad to find adequate technological conditions in the country to apply their acquired knowledge.

“We want Mozambicans to be treated in Mozambique,” the President said, arguing that the investment also represents a step towards strengthening health sovereignty, as well as the country’s scientific and technological capacity. The project includes modern operating theatres equipped with state-of-the-art technology, post-anaesthesia recovery areas, advanced sterilisation services, infection control systems and permanent monitoring equipment. The President, however, stressed that the quality of the new facility will not depend solely on technology, but also on valuing health professionals.

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In this regard, he highlighted the need to continue investing in the training and capacity building of doctors, nurses, anaesthetists, technicians and other healthcare workers. The new infrastructure is also expected to contribute to the development of medical research, clinical innovation and the training of new generations of specialists. The head of state also announced the construction of a National Trauma Centre, placing both projects within a broader strategy to strengthen the National Health System.

For the President, investment in health should not be seen merely as public expenditure, but as an investment in human capital, productivity and the country’s economic and social development. The construction of the National Surgical Centre is the result of cooperation between Mozambique and the People’s Republic of China. The project is expected to become one of the country’s largest health infrastructures and significantly strengthen national capacity to provide specialised surgical care.

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