Saturday 21 / September / 2024
Muscat: The overall completion rate of the Central Public Health Laboratory in the Wilayat of Seeb in the Governorate of Muscat has reached 60% and its soft opening is expected in the second half of 2025.
The laboratory will have the latest technologies and equipment for tests, and its construction cost is approximately OMR18.2 million built on an area of 18,155 square metres.
Dr. Hanan bint Salem Al Kindi, Director of the Public Health Laboratories Department at the Ministry of Health, told said: "The Central Public Health Laboratory aims to bring together all current public health laboratories affiliated with the Ministry’s General Diwan under one roof to enhance the diagnostic capabilities of laboratories and health security.
She added that the main building of the laboratory consists of three floors, where the first floor will have administrative offices, a lecture hall that can accommodate 130 people, and a wing for receiving samples.
The building will also include two biosafety level 3 (BSL3) laboratories for dealing with high-risk microbes, in addition to level 2 laboratories in the fields of viruses, bacteria, chemistry, toxins, and newborn examinations. Access to mechanical systems will be provided through external corridors, to ensure that the level of biological containment is not affected.
She stated that the building will include a quality and risk management department (a laboratory serving the regional quality programme), public health laboratory affairs, and a virus laboratory (the regional polio reference laboratory, the regional measles and rubella laboratory, the national influenza laboratory, and the regional SARS-CoV virus laboratory, among others).
She stated that the building will contain a reference pulmonary tuberculosis laboratory, a bacteriology, epidemiology and surveillance laboratory, a parasitology, malaria and fungi laboratory, a newborn screening laboratory, an environmental laboratory, a chemical laboratory, a toxicology and genetic sequencing laboratory, a bioinformatics department, and a WHO regional collaborating centre for emerging and emerging diseases, in addition to administrative and financial departments.
She pointed out that the initial design process was preceded by a series of meetings between the engineering team, the Ministry of Health, the technical team from public health laboratories and members of the ministerial technical committee, in cooperation with experts from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States of America. She pointed out that after the start of construction work, a team of engineers and laboratory experts visited a number of American laboratories affiliated with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and laboratories participating in the American Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) with the aim of reviewing the latest developments in laboratory construction after the Corona pandemic.
Dr. Hanan bint Salem Al Kindi, Director of the Public Health Laboratories Department at the Ministry of Health, explained that the Central Public Health Laboratory building was designed to ensure sustainability, general vision and advanced architectural style without compromising its security or the surrounding environment; high-quality building materials were used to ensure durability and ease of maintenance, as the architectural character of the building reflects a commitment to protecting public health.
She stressed that the Ministry of Health is currently working on plans to train national cadres who will work on this project through continuous training and professional development by providing continuous training programs and regular updates for cadres to ensure that they keep pace with the latest developments in technology and systems used to equip national cadres with the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure the effective and safe operation of the project.
She stated that this laboratory will contribute significantly to enhancing healthcare capabilities and improving public health levels in the Sultanate of Oman, the region and the region; as it will continue its role as a major destination for regional and international cooperation in the fields of public health and scientific research, which enhances the position of the Sultanate of Oman on the regional and international scene, and the Central Public Health Laboratory is the most important reference laboratory cooperating with the World Health Organiation in the region.
It is noteworthy that public health laboratories represent a fundamental pillar in the disease investigation and surveillance system, as they are among the most important diagnostic tools in healthcare and one of the most important pillars of vital national security.
