Traffic warning issued as 100 cement trucks head to Phuket cancer centre site
Vachira Phuket Hospital has warned motorists to avoid Pracha Uthit Rd in Ratsada as about 100 concrete mixer trucks move in and out of the cancer centre construction site between 6am and 4pm.
Motorists have been warned to avoid part of Pracha Uthit Rd in Ratsada on the day around 100 concrete mixer trucks are scheduled to enter and exit the construction site of Phuket’s future government cancer treatment centre.
Vachira Phuket Hospital said the trucks will be moving continuously between 6am and 4pm while workers pour the floor slab for the radiotherapy room. The site is on Pracha Uthit Rd, next to the Phuket Juvenile and Family Court.
The hospital urged road users to avoid the area if possible, allow extra travel time and drive carefully throughout the day. In its announcement, the hospital apologised for any inconvenience.
The radiotherapy building is a key part of Phuket’s first government cancer treatment centre, being developed under the administration of Vachira Phuket Hospital. The facility is intended to provide radiation therapy services for patients in Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi.
Construction began in October last year with a foundation-laying ceremony led by then Phuket Governor Saransak Srikruanetra. The project is being funded mainly through public donations, with additional government support for specialised medical equipment.
When completed, the centre will be the first fully equipped government radiotherapy centre on the Andaman coast. Hospital officials have said it is expected to serve more than 1,600 cancer patients a year, with about half requiring radiation treatment.
At present, patients needing radiotherapy must travel to hospitals in Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla or Bangkok, often making repeated journeys of several hundred kilometres.
The Ministry of Public Health has allocated B152 million for specialised equipment, including a high-energy particle accelerator and a treatment planning system. Project officials said the radiotherapy building is scheduled for completion by the end of 2027, when treatment services are expected to begin.
