The planning commission of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region plans to build seven centers for disease prevention and control.
With a budget of 19.39 million yuan (US$2.34 million), the centers will have a floor area of 16,900 square meters.
Construction of another nine institutions for disease control will be started by the end of June with a total investment of 42.3 million yuan (US$5.1 million).
Once in use, these centers and institutions will cover 75 percent of the region's population at city and county level and will strengthen the region's abilities to handle public health emergencies.
To deal with the sudden outbreak of infectious diseases like SARS, the regional government will also build a special hospital at a cost of 21 million yuan (US$2.53 million).
(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2003)
