A cornerstone of the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Center was laid Thursday at the Skopje-based general hospital "8 September".

The PET Center is an investment worth about Denar 380 million (EUR 6,3 million), built by Austrian company "Strabag AG".

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said in the event address that Macedonia launched the PET Center's construction in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), thus opening a new chapter in the country's medical diagnostics.

"The positron emission tomography represents the latest medical achievement in the attempt to get a more precise insight in the functional changes of the human tissue and early detection of many diseases, precise diagnostics, efficient therapy and monitoring of patients. The Center will include state-of-the-art equipment rarely found in public health institutions on the Balkans and SEE", stressed PM Gruevski.

Medical and engineering staff will be trained in medical centers throughout Europe, where PET is already applied.

"We expect the PET Center to be operational in 2015. Its equipping is in the framework of the Government's project of providing medical equipment to health institutions nationwide, worth about EUR 100 million", stressed Gruevski.