According to SIDC chief executive officer, Dr Ivan Yap Kok Seng, the construction of the centre, on a 1.54-hectare plot of land, is currently ahead of schedule, and his team has been plugging away in ensuring all of the activities and resources are ready within the contract time frame. 

“We are happy to announce that we are 11 per cent ahead of schedule at the moment, but it takes a lot to keep up with the momentum. We have the support of Sarawak Research and Development Council (SRDC) and the state government, to make sure we have enough resources to push through,” he told Bernama recently.

The RM200 million project, funded by the Sarawak government, will see the SIDC equipped with facilities such as different levels of biosafety laboratories and treatment beds, in addition to preparing for partnerships with local and international institutions to develop vaccines, therapeutic drugs and treatments.

SIDC, which is one of SRDC's subsidiaries, will also collaborate with the Ministry of Health in overcoming infectious diseases.

With just two years left to meet the deadline, Dr Yap, who is also the SRDC deputy general manager, said that communications and meetings with contractors and consultants from time to time are crucial to ensure everyone is at the top of their game.    

“Once a week we will be on-site to monitor the progress on the ground because, based on our timeline, the completion of the administrative block should be by September 2024, and that will give us about three months to operationalise our core labs,” he said.

Meanwhile, SRDC general manager Dr Peter Morin Nissom, said SIDC would be steered towards bringing in regional and international research talents while attracting global biomedical companies to enhance the state’s preparedness against future medical challenges. 

He said SRDC has embarked on a human capital development initiative, by identifying potential Sarawakian and Malaysian researchers who could contribute their expertise to the centre, once all the facilities are operational.  

Admitting that roping in the right people is one of the major challenges to fulfilling SIDC’s human resources requirements, Dr Morin said they had already started identifying Malaysian researchers, particularly Sarawak natives, currently residing in the country or abroad, to serve at the centre.

“We want to create an ecosystem (of research and development) which will support their return (to serve the state and centre) and that is why we need to convince and show to them that (the mission of) SIDC is achievable,” he said, adding that foreign researchers would also be identified to join the centre. 

He said SRDC had also conducted training programmes with local and international higher learning institutions as a collaborative approach towards SIDC capacity building, starting with the Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak, Curtin University Sarawak and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

“For the global stage, we have formed partnerships with the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Imperial College London, the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and Oxford University. This shows we are being noticed (worldwide),” he said. 

With a consistent policy being put in place by the Sarawak government, Dr Morin added that he is confident that the SIDC project will strategically put the state on the global map of medical discovery and advancement.   

-- BERNAMA