Health Ministry to Inspect Unfinished Irkutsk Radiology Building

The Russian Health Ministry will send a commission to study the unfinished radiology building of the Irkutsk Regional Cancer Center. Governor Igor Kobzev announced this at a session of the Legislative Assembly.

The regional head discussed the construction of the facility with Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko.

«By decision of Mikhail Albertovich [Murashko], a commission will be sent here to once again study the facility, which was supposed to be built by Rosatom (the Russian state atomic energy corporation) under a concession agreement, and to consider the intended purpose of this facility taking into account the development of oncology services in neighboring territories. And in this regard, we will make a final decision,» emphasized Igor Kobzev.

He noted that this issue must be resolved by 2030 «within the framework of national projects.» Therefore, the authorities will prepare an application for obtaining additional diagnostic equipment.

«In any case, today the most important thing is that the intended purpose of both the land plot and the building itself is relevant and agreed upon with the Russian Ministry of Health,» summarized the head of the Angara region.

With Russian Health Minister Mikhail Albertovich Murashko we summed up the results of the implementation of national projects.

Recall that the project has been in development since 2015, promoted by honored doctor of Russia Victoria Dvornichenko, who headed the regional oncology dispensary for three decades. In 2018, the regional government and the company «Rusatom Healthcare» (a Rosatom subsidiary) signed a concession agreement to create a 100-bed radiology building. The agreement was for 15 years: 3 years were allocated for construction of the new building, and the remaining 12 years for operation. The construction was delayed. At the time of signing, the capital costs were estimated at 5.1 billion rubles (approximately $61 million at current rates), but in 2021 they increased to 7.2 billion rubles (approximately $86 million at current rates).

It was expected that in September 2026, the concessionaire would hand over the building and begin its operation.

But in September 2025, the concession was terminated by mutual agreement. According to the Health Ministry, by May 2026 the contractor will complete work on the external contour and roof, and then transfer the facility to the region «for further decisions on completion.» The timeline for when the project will be finished is unknown.