3 large onco-hospitals with land put up for sale in Tashkent

In the capital, three hospitals - the Republican Scientific and Practical Medical Center of Oncology and Radiology and its branches in Tashkent city and Tashkent region were put up for auction.

Republican specialized oncology and radiology scientific-practical medical center occupying an area of   9.4 hectares was put up for sale at the initial price of 281 billion 784 million soums, Tashkent city branch of the center located on an area of   4.6 hectares - 160 billion 557 million soums and Tashkent region branch of the center with 2.6 hectares - 92 billion 94 million soums. Auctions for all three objects will be held on December 12, 2022 in ascending price order.

The Ministry of Health made a comment after the news that the hospitals were put up for auction spread on social networks. According to it, a new combined complex of the Republican specialized oncology and radiology scientific-practical medical center is being built in Almazar district. Oncology hospitals for sale will be combined into this unique complex.

The proceeds from the sale will be used for the construction costs of this complex.

In the explanation of the Ministry of Health, it was noted that the newly constructed complex will have 8 floors, 17 new clinical departments will be established, equipped with modern technologies, 16 intensive care and operating rooms will be equipped with the latest technologies, and a radiotherapy arsenal consisting of 9 bunkers will be launched.

The new complex is planned to be launched in May 2023. It is said that the ministry will carry out the relocation of patients and necessary equipment for two months after the new complex is put into operation, and the entrepreneur who won the auction will be obliged not to carry out any construction work until the relocation is completed.

Hospitals for sale are located in the central and prime locations of Tashkent city. For example, the Republican specialized oncology and radiology scientific-practical medical center is located in Shaykhantakhur district, the Tashkent city branch of the center is located in Chilanzar district, and 1 square meter of land in these addresses is valued in the market from 35 thousand to 100 thousand dollars. However, 1 hectare of land of the hospitals put up for sale (according to the initial price) corresponds to 30-40 million soums ($3-4 thousand).

The newly constructed complex will be located on the street of Doctors in Almazar district. This address is one of the remotest areas of Tashkent.

In addition, the Ministry of Health announced that the new complex under construction will have 650 inpatient and 100 day inpatient beds. At the moment, there are 370 places in the Republican Specialized Oncology and Radiology Scientific and Practical Medical Center, 226 places in its Tashkent city branch, and 240 places in the Tashkent region branch - adding all three, 836 places, that is, 86 more than in the new complex.

In addition, gathering so many patients in one place can cause a number of inconveniences for both patients and medical staff. In addition, the incidence rate of hematological and oncological diseases among children in the republic is increasing. The rate of child mortality from these diseases is 9.2 per 100,000 children, and it ranks second after injury (trauma and accidents).

In Uzbekistan, hematological and oncological diseases are recorded for the first time in 1,300 children aged 0-18 years, and the total number of patients is 7.5 per 100,000 children.

These numbers require that hospitals not be reduced or consolidated, but that new opportunities be used while keeping the existing ones.

Most importantly, the sale of onco-hospitals is not connected with “finding” funds for the construction of a new complex, but with the desire to privatize these lands as quickly as possible. After all, according to the relevant decision of the president, in 2018-2020, the center and its branches in Tashkent city and Tashkent region are set to build new buildings and reconstruct some of them.

According to the annex to that decision, during 2018-2019, a two-story building of the radiotherapeutic department, a one-story building for positron emission tomography with a total area of   at least 700 square meters, together with a stationary and experimental oncology scientific laboratory, will be built at the Republican Center for Scientific and Practical Medicine of Specialized Oncology and Radiology. It is planned to build a food block and a laundry building with a total area of   1,384 square meters and 1,213 square meters, as well as to reconstruct the treatment building of the main building of the center with the additional construction of a hall, as well as the reconstruction of the former factory building together with the vivar in the consultation polyclinic and the general surgery department. 

In addition, in 2019, it is planned to build an operation block with a total area of   500 square meters in the Tashkent region branch of the center, and in 2020, a building with a total area of   700 square meters for the pathomorphology department of the Tashkent city branch of the center.

In July 2019, the building of the new, modern Consultative-diagnostic polyclinic of the Republican Specialized Oncology and Radiology Scientific and Practical Medical Center was commissioned. For this construction, a 3-story building was reconstructed on the basis of the Investment program, and a 2-story hall was built in the front part.

At this point, the question arises as to why billions of state funds were spent and these things were done when they were sold. Also, in May 2021, when Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited the Republican Center of Specialized Oncology and Radiology Scientific and Practical Medicine, he emphasized that the current facilities of the center are not enough, not buying the hospitals, but gave an order to build new buildings.

In addition, in the decision of the President of May 27, 2021 “On further improvement of the system of providing hematology and oncology services to the population”, until September 1, 2021, the Ministries of Health, Finance and Construction and the Tashkent city khokimat were assigned the task of developing project-estimate documents for the construction and equipping of a modern complex of new buildings and facilities for the Tashkent Republican Scientific and Practical Medical Center of Oncology and Radiology in the vacant area of   the clinic of the medical academy.

But in this decision, there is nothing to sell the buildings and facilities of the center and its branches in Tashkent city and Tashkent region. But before the new center is built and commissioned, and the patients are not transferred there, the land where the hospitals are located is being put up for sale.

Also, in the above presidential decision, the Ministry of Finance is tasked with providing an additional 60 billion soums from the state budget in 2021 and no less than 125 billion soums from 2022 for expenses related to the improvement of oncology care and further development of oncology services. That is, the construction works of the center have not been determined from which sources and funds.

It is unlikely that there will be a significant change in the industry, unless the terrible days of the pandemic - when there is a shortage of beds in hospitals and even warehouses and other facilities were turned into covid centers.