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AKARTA: State insurance company for workers, PT Jamsostek, will build a hospital for workers in Cakung industrial estate, East Jakarta, kompas.com reported Monday.

The hospital, according to PT Kawasan Berikat Nusantara (KBN) president director Raharjo Arjosiswoyo, would begin operations next year under the joint management of state health insurance company PT Askes and state Pelni Hospital. “The hospital will be part of the social and public facilities in the bonded zone. It will also be a factor in attracting investors to Indonesia,” Raharjo said after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry on Monday.

Jamsostek president director Elvyn G. Masassya said that the hospital would only provide one service class and that doctors would only treat common illnesses. Patients with serious illness would be transferred to referral hospitals.

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan said that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono requested building a hospital for workers during his recent visit to an industrial estate on Batam Island, Riau.

“He said: ‘Even soldiers have their own hospital, but workers, who outnumber soldiers, don’t have one’. That’s why we established a special hospital for workers,” he said.