President inaugurates Anutapura Medical Center, first earthquake-resistant building in eastern Indonesia – Healthy My Country

Palu, March 26, 2024

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin accompanied President Joko Widodo to inaugurate the construction and reconstruction of Anutapura Medical Center (AMC), Anutapura Regional Hospital, Palu, Central Sulawesi, Wednesday (26/3).

In his speech, President Joko Widodo said the building, consisting of four floors, has been under construction since 2021 and will be completed in 2024.

“Today we are inaugurating the reconstruction of the Anutapura Medical Center building, Anutapura Regional Hospital, which (construction) will be carried out from 2021 to 2024,” President Joko Widodo said.

The Head of State said that the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Anutapura Medical Center was carried out on an area of ​​10,309 square meters and cost up to IDR 244 billion.

The AMC building includes the emergency room, obstetrics emergency room, polyclinic, radiology, laboratory, inpatient ward and central surgical facility.

Furthermore, the President said that the AMC Building was the first building in Eastern Indonesia to apply Lead Rubber Bearing (LRB) Base Isolation System technology to resist seismic forces caused by earthquakes.

“I was given a photo earlier, under this building there is something like a shock breaker, so it can be flexible in the event of an earthquake, but we are not expecting an earthquake,” President Joko Widodo said.

The Head of State hopes that all the infrastructure that was built after the disaster will be maintained as best as possible for the benefit of the community.

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that with the completion of the construction and reconstruction of the AMC, the government, through the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), will then equip the RSUD sophisticated and modern health equipment.
It is hoped that the realization of this equipment can restore health services in the community and make RSUD a reference in treatment for the community of Palu city and its surroundings.

Previously (Anutapura Hospital) was razed, now it has been rebuilt and it is in good condition to be able to serve the people of Palu so that if you suffer from heart disease, stroke or cancer, you do not need to be taken to Makassar, it can be done here, the Minister of Health said.

It is also the first anti-seismic hospital equipped with the latest technology, added the Minister of Health.

Senior Director of Anutapura Hospital in Palu, Maria Rosa Da Lima, said the 2018 earthquake and tsunami caused significant damage, including to the physical infrastructure and health equipment of Anutapura Hospital in Palu . As a result, services to the community are disrupted due to limited facilities and infrastructure.

At that time we had to use all the existing buildings and it could be said that we were not fit to use them as outpatient buildings. “However, our government built this AMC building,” he said.

In agreement with the Minister of Health, Maria said that currently AMC is also equipped with advanced health equipment to treat priority diseases, namely cancer, heart disease, stroke and uronephrology. In fact, this service has now become a reference for people in the Pasar Kayu region, which is geographically located in the West Sulawesi region.

“We would like to thank the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, the Ministry of Health, JICA, PUPR and Adhi Karya for the construction of this building. This building is eagerly awaited by the population of Central Sulawesi, especially Palu City, as a reference place for the middle classes,” he said.

The inauguration of the Anutapura Medical Center building was also attended by the Minister of Public Works and Public Housing, the Minister of Transportation, the Governor of Central Sulawesi, the Mayor of Palu and representatives of JICA.

This news was released by the Communications and Public Services Office of the Indonesian Ministry of Health. For more information, please contact the Ministry of Health Halo helpline number 1500-567, SMS 081281562620 and email address [email protected].
Head of the Office of Communications and Public Services
Dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi, Mr. Epid