Ho Chi Minh City is allocating more than VND5 trillion to five major investment projects at the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital to address growing demand for cancer screening and treatment, as well as persistent challenges related to overcrowding, radiotherapy, and advanced diagnostics.
According to Dr. Diep Bao Tuan, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, the hospital handles approximately 4,800–5,000 patient visits and treatments daily, including around 700 radiotherapy patients. Most patients come from provinces and cities across the country.
The hospital currently operates 10 radiotherapy machines in three consecutive shifts, from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day. To ensure the first machine is ready to deliver radiation at 5 a.m., technical staff must arrive between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. to conduct inspections, measurements, and quality assurance procedures. Despite all 10 machines operating at full capacity and serving around 700 treatment sessions daily, another 800–1,000 patients are still waiting for their turn.
The average waiting time for radiotherapy is four to six weeks. Once their turn comes, each patient must wait about another hour for treatment. To reduce the time needed to change accessories between sessions, the hospital schedules patients with similar conditions for consecutive radiotherapy sessions, Dr. Diep Bao Tuan said.
In response to rising demand for cancer screening and treatment, Associate Professor Dr. Tang Chi Thuong, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, said the city's health sector had registered five key public investment projects at the Oncology Hospital for the 2026–2030 period, with a total estimated investment of more than VND5 trillion from the municipal budget.
The projects include the construction of a new high-tech cancer screening facility; procurement of specialized medical equipment; procurement of a cyclotron system and a single-energy-level medical linear accelerator system for provincial-level use; construction of a proton radiotherapy center; and construction of a support facility for patients at the Oncology Hospital.
The project to procure specialized medical equipment for the Oncology Hospital, with the Ho Chi Minh City Civil and Industrial Construction Investment Project Management Board as the investor, has received in-principle investment approval from the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee. Bidding is expected to be organized no later than the first quarter of 2027. The remaining projects are being finalized by the relevant authorities for submission to competent agencies for consideration in 2026–2027.
In addition, the health sector is proposing the construction of a 700-bed Oncology Hospital facility in Ba Ria, along with high-tech screening and diagnostic centers at the Tan Kien and Thu Duc medical complexes. It has also registered a project to build an Oncology Hospital facility in Binh Duong.
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