Assam signs pact to establish Rs 600 crore proton therapy centre
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Guwahati facility will make advanced cancer treatment more accessible and affordable for citizens.
The Assam government signed a contract agreement with IBA Particle Therapy India Pvt Ltd on Saturday to establish a Proton Beam Therapy Centre in Guwahati, according to The Assam Tribune.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the project would introduce advanced radiation treatment into the state's public healthcare system. He noted that the therapy could protect sensitive organs like the brain and spine and could be beneficial for children with cancer.
The project is estimated to cost Rs 600 crore. Sarma said Rs 315 crore will be financed through a World Bank loan, with the Centre reimbursing 80 per cent of that amount, or approximately Rs 270 crore.
The Assam government will spend an additional Rs 285 crore on the project. Sarma added that Rs 60 crore from the Assam Arogya Nidhi corpus, collected during the Covid-19 pandemic, would be redirected to the initiative.
The Chief Minister stated that proton therapy currently costs between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 20 lakh in Mumbai and Chennai. He said the new machines would be more affordable and could attract patients from other states and neighbouring countries.
Sarma said Assam would become the first state government to offer this treatment through its own public healthcare system. Currently, such facilities in India are only available at Apollo Hospital in Chennai and Tata Memorial in Mumbai.