Mega Covid-19 facility coming up at Tanjong Pagar Terminal
Up to 15,000 patients or foreign workers could be housed there and it is part of a broader plan to meet future demand
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Tee Zhuo
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A large facility being set up at Tanjong Pagar Terminal could house up to 15,000 Covid-19 patients or foreign workers, as the number of coronavirus cases in Singapore continues to increase, The Straits Times has learnt.
The structure being erected is part of a "broader plan" to ensure adequate space to meet future demand, a Ministry of National Development spokesman told The Straits Times yesterday.
This includes facilities for workers who are suspected Covid-19 cases, or are infected, recovering or have fully recovered.
Over the last few days, regular visits to the site have shown large marquees being set up with cherry pickers in the area. There are also multiple rows of cars.
Trucks carrying building materials could also be seen entering the terminal, which has been vacant since port operations were relocated to Pasir Panjang Terminal.
As of Wednesday, at least five or six rows of tents had already been set up at the terminal.
Much of the terminal's operations had been moved out as early as 2017, as part of plans for a future mega port.
Over the last few weeks, the Government has been preparing various locations to house healthy foreign workers or to convert them into community isolation sites.
The community facilities are meant to house recovering Covid-19 patients and those with milder symptoms, and include Singapore Expo, D'Resort NTUC in Pasir Ris and Changi Exhibition Centre (CEC). D'Resort was the first isolation facility and can take up to 500 people.
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said on April 14 that the two halls at Singapore Expo currently used to house coronavirus patients have a total capacity of about 950, and that four other halls at the building will open progressively.
Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean shared in a Facebook post on April 16 that the CEC was being converted. The 33,000 sq m space will be able to accommodate up to 2,800 patients.
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Accommodation spaces set aside
A facility being built at Tanjong Pagar Terminal is the latest to be prepared to house Covid-19 patients or foreign workers.
EXISTING FACILITIES INCLUDE:
Community isolation facilities
• D'Resort NTUC in Pasir Ris (500 people)
• Singapore Expo (950 people for two halls, with another four due to open progressively)
• Changi Exhibition Centre (2,800 people)
Housing for foreign workers
• Jurong Camp II and Bedok Camp II (1,300 people)
• 21 vacant Housing Board blocks in Bukit Merah
• Four vacant "diamond" Housing Board blocks in Taman Jurong (456 units)
• Three floating accommodation facilities at Tanjong Pagar Terminal (1,300 people)
• Home Team Academy and Civil Defence Academy (700 people)
• Northshore Primary School in Punggol North
• Outdoor Adventure Learning Centres in Dairy Farm and Labrador
• Sarimbun Scout Camp in Lim Chu Kang
OTHER FACILITIES BEING CONSIDERED
• SuperStar Gemini cruise ship
• SuperStar Aquarius cruise ship
About 4,500 bedding items such as sheets and mattresses, ordered by Temasek Foundation, have been delivered to Singapore from Indonesia to cater for the community isolation facilities.
The authorities are also thinning out the packed dormitories where foreign workers reside, in order to better manage the situation.
Some 10,000 healthy foreign workers in essential services, living in purpose-built dormitories, have been moved into alternative living areas, such as military camps, floating hotels and vacant Housing Board blocks.
Close to 700 foreign workers are now being housed temporarily at Home Team Academy and Civil Defence Academy dormitory blocks.
Among the HDB blocks are four in Taman Jurong, known as the "diamond blocks". The blocks, 63 to 66 Yung Kuang Road, are 21 storeys each and have 456 units in total.
The National Development Ministry has also said that 21 HDB blocks in Bukit Merah were being refurbished to house such workers. The flats were vacated in 2018 but have not yet been demolished.
About 1,300 foreign workers have been gradually moved to Jurong Camp II and Bedok Camp II - two Singapore Armed Forces camps.
Some foreign workers have also been moved to floating accommodation facilities berthed at Tanjong Pagar Terminal this month. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said on April 13 that the first batch of 31 healthy foreign workers were moved into one of three such facilities.
A total of about 1,300 workers will be moved there in batches. Each room will have two to three people to minimise interaction.
Cruise ships are also being considered to house the workers. One such ship is the SuperStar Gemini, currently berthed at Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore near the Tanjong Pagar Terminal site.
Another ship is SuperStar Aquarius. Both are mid-sized cruise ships operated by Genting Cruise Lines.
The Government will check the ships for factors such as ventilation systems, security protocols and infection control measures.
As at noon yesterday, Singapore had reported a total of 11,178 Covid-19 infections, with the bulk of the cases being foreign workers staying in dormitories.
