Moldova will borrow about US$60 million from the Government of Japan to implement the Improvement of Medical Services Project. On July 12, Parliament adopted a bill to ratify the lending agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, IPN reports.

Deputy Minister of Finance Maria Caraus said the objective of the project is to improve the medical care by outfitting five Moldovan hospitals and 11 public health centers with modern medical equipment. The hospitals are: the National Clinical Hospital, the Mother and Child Center, the Emergency Hospital, the Oncology Institute, and the Municipal Clinical Hospital “Saint Trinity”.

The loan is repayable in 30 years, with a grace period of 10 years. The interest rate and commitment commission are 0.1% each a year. The project will be completed in June 2015. Attending the Parliament sitting, Health Minister Andrei Usatyi said the new equipment that will be bought will enable to perform operations on brain, transplants, heart surgery for newborns, and other types of surgery.