KOTA SAMARAHAN: Construction works on the first stage of the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) Teaching Hospital will be expedited for it to be completed ahead of schedule.

Caretaker Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, in disclosing this, said the initiative will be taken to meet UNIMAS’ expectation for the project to be completed by May, 2023.

“If according to the schedule in the contract, the first phase of this project should be completed in September next year. However, UNIMAS hopes that it can be completed earlier, which is in May.

“Therefore, I also request that the contractor, the state and federal Public Works Department (PWD) discuss to see how we can achieve the target,” he said.

He told this to reporters when visiting the UNIMAS Teaching Hospital construction site here on Wednesday (Oct 26).

Contractors will face difficulties because of this, he added, but they must discuss and come up with solutions to allow for an early project completion.

“Although there are two phases to the hospital construction project, we will focus on and discuss the first phase,” he added.

The first phase of the project covers the construction of the Prima Health Centre, a support block (including a cafe, surau, nursery) and a parking lot.

It would have a two-story building, which includes an Outpatient Clinic, Mother and Child Clinic, Laboratory Facilities, Radiology and a Drive-Through Pharmacy.

It is also an important component for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences to start the Master of Family Medicine programme.

Accordingly, Fadillah noted that the entire project is also expected to be fully completed by 2025.

“Alhamdulillah, according to today’s report (October 26) they are ahead of schedule despite being faced with the issue of extension of time due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) and so on.

“If the project can be completed ahead of schedule… it will benefit not only UNIMAS medical students but also the community around the Kota Samarahan area,” he said.

For the record, the construction of the UNIMAS Teaching Hospital and Prima UNIMAS Health Centre involved a contract value of RM485.99 million.