The Colombo National Hospital in Sri Lanka received a new eight-story outpatient building on Tuesday (25), built with Chinese assistance at a cost of 80 million USD. The handover was officially completed during a ceremony attended by Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong. The project, covering an area of approximately 50,000 square meters, is expected to help alleviate local medical resource constraints and increase the hospital’s daily handling capacity to 6,000 patients. During the ceremony, Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella expressed his appreciation for China’s long-term support and said the outpatient building was a much-needed addition to the country’s health sector. He also thanked China for providing medical supplies and vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong highlighted the importance of the health sector in the development of bilateral relations and said China had provided emergency medicine supply to Sri Lanka, hoping to bring tangible benefits to front-line medical workers and patients. The handover documents and other documents related to the medicines and medical equipment to be provided by China during the course of this year were also signed during the ceremony. The new outpatient building is expected to significantly improve the healthcare services offered by the Colombo National Hospital and will be a vital addition to the country’s healthcare infrastructure.