Guwahati to get Northeast's first private medical cyclotron at Bonda

Guwahati is set to get the Northeast's first privately owned medical cyclotron, a machine that produces the short-lived radioactive tracers used in PET-CT cancer scans. The foundation stone for the cyclotron vault was laid on Sunday, November 1, at the AIDC Industrial Estate in Bonda, Pratidin Time reported.

The facility is being built by Nucleomed Private Limited and will be the 14th private medical cyclotron in India, according to the report.

What the facility will make

The plant will house an 18 MeV cyclotron able to produce up to 30 curies of Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (F-18 FDG), the most widely used tracer for PET-CT imaging in cancer diagnosis. Because F-18 decays quickly, with a half-life of under two hours, PET-CT centres need a supplier close by.

Nucleomed director Dr Kandarpa Saikia said the facility would serve PET-CT centres across the Northeast and other parts of India, and would also make other short-lived isotopes used in cancer treatment. A dedicated theranostics ward, which combines diagnosis and targeted radiation therapy, is planned on the same campus.

Cost and timeline

The project is estimated to cost about Rs 62 crore. Construction is expected to be finished by September 2027, with commercial commissioning and production targeted for January 2028.

The project began in November 2025 after the Advantage Assam 2.0 investment summit. Piling and early construction are complete, and work on the shielded cyclotron vault is to start now. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has approved the structural design of the nuclear installation, the report said.

Who attended

Olivier Legrain, CEO and vice-chairman of Belgium's Ion Beam Applications (IBA), attended the ceremony. He was in Guwahati for the Assam government's proton therapy project. Those who laid the foundation stone included Dr Munindra Narayan Baruah, managing director of NECHRI, and Dr Bibhuti Barthakur, director of B Borooah Cancer Institute, along with other doctors and industry representatives.

Saikia said better air connectivity from Assam could also allow isotopes to be supplied to other parts of India and to Southeast Asia, where demand is growing.

Why it matters

The Northeast has some of India's highest cancer rates, and patients often travel long distances for scans and treatment. A steady local supply of PET tracers could help more hospitals in the region offer PET-CT imaging. The project adds to the state's wider push on cancer care, including the planned government proton therapy centre at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.