PHNOM PENH, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Monday inaugurated a national cancer center and a new maternity ward in the compound of the state-run Calmette Hospital here.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said the 9-storey center, along with a new maternity facility, had been well-equipped with modern medical equipment.

"This is a new achievement in the country's health sector, and it will importantly contribute to improving the health of Cambodian people," he said.

Health Minister Mam Bunheng said the cancer center had been built in line with an international hospital standard and had been equipped with the latest medical equipment and devices including a 3.8-million-U.S.-dollar Linear Accelerator, nuclear medicine for diagnosis and treatment, bone marrow transplantation, and treatment by stem cell and chemical medicine.

He said the Linear Accelerator, which is the equipment most commonly used for external beam radiation treatments for patients with cancer, can serve between 700 and 1,000 cancer patients a year.

According to the minister, the cancer center consists of 53 beds and the new maternity ward has 85 beds.

Mam Bunheng said the building and its medical equipment totally cost 23 million U.S. dollars in which 17.4 million dollars was the Calmette Hospital's budget, and 3.2 million dollars and 2.4 million dollars were donated by a hospital in France and the International Atomic Energy Agency, respectively.