BINTULU: The population of Bintulu is expected to increase by 260,000 by 2030 due to the rapid growth of the oil and gas industry as well as the plantation sector.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang said today that the projected increase in population has led to the need to add facilities and health services in the area.
He said that one of the improvements to the health service was the construction of the Kidurong Health Clinic.
“The site has been identified. We now wait for the approval and allocation for the construction of the clinic,” he said after a briefing during his visit to Bintulu Hospital here.
He said that other projects, namely the construction of a hospital in Tatau and health clinics in Samalaju and Kakus respectively, are still at the proposal stage.
The division currently has 12 health clinics, a community clinic and a maternal and child health clinic.
Aaron also said that the Bintulu Hospital has requested the construction of a new block that would accommodate 250 beds to overcome congestion.
“The cost of construction of the new block is expected to be over RM400 million and is in the process of negotiating with the ministry,” he said.
Earlier, he visited the Covid-19 detection laboratory at the hospital, which now has a new polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine.
The laboratory has also acquired an additional machine, the result of the efforts of Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing who had raised funds from the private sector and individuals from the division.
By having the machine, samples from Covid-19 patients were no longer sent to Sibu Hospital or Miri Hospital for testing. – Bernama
