The Minister of Health Sergio da Costa Lobo said there are a lot of possibilities for private investment in the health sector, so they can better develop quality health assistance in the community.

Minister Lobo said there were a lot of opportunities for private investors, especially through the construction of health posts in villages, cleaning and catering for patients in hospitals and providing medical equipment, consumables, medicine and transport for health facilities.

"And also to invest in equipment like x-ray machines, and it's important to provide technicians while we're still preparing our people," said Minister Lobo at a conference about private sector investment at the Dili Convention Centre (02/07).

Minister Lobo said they had approached a hospital in Malaysia to invest in the area of cancer treatment, which included installing equipment and supplying human resources to operate these machines.

Apart from this, he said the ministry has plans to establish oncology, trauma, pulmonology and hematology centres at the National Hospital Guido Valadares.

According to him the meeting was very important to exchange ideas between the government and international and national investors, so in the future they have an interest in coming to invest in Timor-Leste.

Meanwhile, Chang Hexi, a businessman from Macau who's invested in health equipment and medicine in hospitals in Hong Kong and China, said he was happy to work with Timor-Leste in the health sector.

"I'm interested in working together in the health sector in construction, the supply of uniforms, medical equipment and other areas," he said.

In the meeting he also asked for information about the system, criteria and payment process for tenders the Ministry of Health opens to international and national companies, as he said he was interested in cooperating with the Ministry of Health.

In the same place Dulce Alves Fernandes, a national businessman, said they were interested in working with the Ministry of Health in the construction of homes for doctors and health posts the government has planned.

In response to this question Minister Lobo said it would depend on the construction projects they had, for example maintenance or rehabilitation, and would follow the normal contract approval process.

"For investors to invest in the health sector they must be partners with the government, as it's clear the presence of investors is very important because in Timor-Leste healthcare is free, and even patients transferred overseas are paid for by the government," said Minister Lobo.