Tuesday September 15, 2020 – Khon Kaen University held a contract signing ceremony for construction of Excellence Medical Center Building between KKU and Christiani & Nielsen (Thai) Public Company Limited, the construction contractor, and between KKU and Arunchai Seree Consulting Engineers Co. Ltd., the supervising company. Dr. Narongchai Akrasanee, Chairman of Khon Kaen University Council welcomed the delegation and gave an opening address. Assoc. Prof. Charnchai Panthongviriyakul, M.D., President of Khon Kaen University represented KKU to sign the contract with Christiani & Nielsen (Thai) Public Company Limited represented by Mr. Kushroo Kali Wadia. Another contract was signed between Khon Kaen University and Arunchai Seree Consulting Engineers Co. Ltd., the supervision company represented by Dr. Piyawat Chaiseree. Members of the University Council, university administrators, deans of medical science faculties joined as honorable guests.
Dr. Narongchai Akrasanee, Chairman of Khon Kaen University Council said, “The construction of this excellence medical center is the biggest project of Khon Kaen University, to be built on 32 rais of land. Eight rais belong to KKU and 24 has been supplemented by Office Groundwater Area 4, Khon Kaen, that returned the land to the Treasury Department and authorized KKU to use. Architect 110 Co. Ltd., designed the center and A.T.T. Consultant Co. Ltd., supervised the project, which has been allocated the budget of 4,000 million baht. When completed, the hospital will have an additional area of 120,000 m2 for service. Besides expanding medical service, the medical school will be able to produce 150 more doctors and specialists, with an expansion of research works and medical innovations to follow. The project is thus a great benefit to people in the Northeast and the regions close by.”
“Khon Kaen University Council is determined to respond to the social. One of our best jobs besides education service is public health service. In this regard, we want to provide the best and the widest medical care opportunities that cover all areas in Isan as well as the neighboring countries. This project, which is fully supported by the Council, results from the dedication of Faculty of Medicine to run this excellence medical center, and that is why this mega-project comes to life. Presently, technology is fast, and Faculty of Medicine has been using Artificial Intelligence or AI in different sections of the hospital and medical school. We can trust that fully applied AI will enable medical care to best improve services for the public,” Dr. Narongchai ended.
Assoc. Prof. Charnchai Panthongviriyakul, M.D., President of Khon Kaen University said, “The design of this center has been elaborately done. And Christiani & Nielsen (Thai) Public Company Limited, the contractor, has a lot of experiences in designing and constructing big hospitals in Bangkok and big buildings in the country. Besides, we also have a leading construction company to work for us, i.e., Arunchai Seree Consulting Engineers Co. Ltd., as the construction supervision and A.T.T. Consultant Co. Ltd., as the consultant company. We are therefore confident of the quality of the work and of the completion time. The public will be able to use the building soon.”
“The excellence medical center building is composed of the central building, which has been allocated an amount of 4,300 million baht exclusive of equipment, systems and hardware that amount to 1,000 million baht. Christiani & Nielsen (Thai) Public Company Limited won the bidding at the lowest price of 3,900 million baht. The building usage and service space is 120,000 m2, enabling expansion of medical care services, with 622 more beds, 25 more operation theaters, and 117 more beds in the ICU. The project, in addition, thinks about people coming from a long way and people with low income, and so provides accommodation for them to stay – the 400 units of accommodation for relatives of patients – who will pay only 5-10 baht per day. Other features include the car parking lots that can house 1,000 cars. The project’s construction period is 4 years. In the meantime, surveys will be carried out for future needs.”
Assoc. Prof. Charnchai added, “The Ayu Wattana Fund still opens for donation. We accept any amount, high or low. Until now, there are still few donators. Phase 1 construction does not have a problem related to budget, for the faculty still have a reserve fund of about 2,000 million baht. But we have to campaign for more for Phases 2 and 3; therefore, we are now calling for the public’s donation.”
KKU President then finalized, “AI or Artificial Intelligence and new medical technologies will be used at the excellence medical center. These can be used in accurate diagnosis, pathological examination, X-rays, etc. AI can be used in the following-up of patients and telemedicine. Equipment in medicine like automatons will be assisting and improving medical care services. Diagnoses and treatment will be more precise. A KKU Health Care Innovation Center will be set up that brings medical professionals including computer and information engineers, Com Science experts and many other faculties in the health science fields to work together. Even Faculty of Architecture can join us by designing accommodation that extends to the elderly care by building the safe environment that facilitates their quality living both at the hospital and at their home.”
Assoc. Prof. Apichat Jirawutthipong, M.D., Dean of Faculty of Medicine explained, “This is an important project and a big step forward of the Northeast and the national public health circle. Srinagarind Hospital is determined to expand medical care service, not only by adding 600 more beds and 25 more operation rooms, but the excellence center will cover specific fields, from treatment of cholangiocarcinoma, medicine, pediatric care, etc. Khon Kaen University assures that we will serve the public to the best of our capacity. It can be certain that in the future, people in the Northeast will be best taken care of by Khon Kaen University.”
In addition to providing more medical care services, the Excellence Medical Center of Srinagarind Hospital has the capacity to prepare 150 more medical specialists each year. Research and innovations in medicine will be expanded, bringing benefits to the people in the Northeast and the regions nearby.
[ Thai ]
News : Wachara Noichompoo
