BATAM - The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing is developing an observation and quarantine facility for contagious infections such as coronavirus or Covid-19 in Batam, Riau Islands.
According to Public Works Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, as directed by President Joko Widodo the facility is targeted for completion by the end of March 2020.
“The President has given two to three weeks for the project to be completed and fully prepared. There will be not only buildings for observation and quarantine (including isolation), but also supporting facilities such as housing for doctors and nurses, a soup kitchen, warehouses, a laundry facility, and others,” said Mr Hadimuljono in an official statement on the Cabinet Secretariat’s website, Tuesday (10/3).
The initial phase will see the development of two two-storey buildings consisting of an observation and quarantine facility with 230 beds as well as an isolation room with 30 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds and 20 non-ICU beds. In addition, there will be a sporting facility, a green open space, a solid waste management facility, and a wastewater management installation.
The project, said Mr Hadimuljono, is undertaken through a joint operation between PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) Tbk (WIKA), PT Waskita Karya (Persero) Tbk (WSKT), and construction management consultant PT Virama Karya. (MS)