Investors of Peking University International Hospital signed a land development and construction contract with the local government Sunday, announcing another international hospital to be built in Beijing.

According to the contract, the hospital will be built in Zhongguancun Life Science Park, covering an area of 290,000 squaremeters.

Jointly invested by Peking University, Peking University Founder Group and Peking University Science Park Co. Ltd with 3.2 billion yuan (US$395 million), the hospital will start construction early next year, said a source of the project.

The hospital is expected to have 2400 beds up to international standards and will go into operation before 2008, as an important part of Beijing's promised large scale international hospital with 5000 beds to serve the Olympic Games.

The non-profit medical institution will be run with world-class technologies, services and management.

Apart from treating patients covered by China's medical insurance system, it will also provide special medical services tomiddle- and high-income families as well as foreigners.

It will be one of China's biggest comprehensive hospitals and a research institute of clinical medicine, sports medicine, psychiatry and cypridology.

(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2005)