"The government will allocate Rp1.1 trillion for soft loans to build a number of referral hospitals in Aceh," the President said.
The hospitals will be built in the eastern and southwestern parts of the province, he revealed.
In addition, the government will also allocate Rp948.9 billion in funds to boost health development in the country`s western-most province, he added.
"All of this will be done by the central government to speed up development programs in Aceh, which was once plagued by a bloody conflict and devastated by a huge disaster," Yudhoyono stated, while referring to the 2004 tsunami.
More than 200,000 people had perished following an undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9, which had resulted in a tsunami that devastated parts of the Aceh province in December of 2004.
Meanwhile, Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah stated that Aceh still needed more budget allocations from the central government to develop its education and health sectors.
"In the health sector, Aceh needs a number of regional referral hospitals, particularly for its eastern and southern coastal districts," he pointed out.
Reporting by M Haris SA
EDITED BY INE
(KR-BSR/S012)
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
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