Ternate (Antara Maluku) - The North Maluku city of Ternate will soon have an international-standard hospital, Ternate Deputy Mayor Arifin Djafar said here on Thursday.
He said the hospital, to be built by a company from Jakarta with an investment of more than Rp200 billion, would improve the health service for the people of the middle class to the upper class.
According to him, the absence of good hospital with adequate facility in Ternate and other cities in North Maluku has forced the people of the middle class to the top in the province to get medical assistance in Makassar, South Sulawesi; and Jakarta.
Therefore, Arifin expressed hope that with the presence of the international-standard hospital in here, the people would no longer try to get medical assistance outside the province.
Besides, the patients from other provinces such as Papua and Maluku could come to Ternate to get medical assistance following the present of the hospital, he said.
He added that the hospital would also support the Ternate city government's program to make the city the center of service and trade activities in eastern part of Indonesia.
Arifin ensured that the international-standard hospital would not kill the existing regional and private hospitals in Ternate because they have their own segment.
"Even the existence of international-standard hospital will support the regional and private hospitals in providing specialist doctors," he said.
