KUCHING: Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) has been urged to reconsider its decision in using the Mile 7 Basketball Court as a Covid-19 testing centre to prevent a major traffic jam.
Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen said the testing centre should instead be relocated to the Kuching International Airport (KIA) or its carpark to serve residents in Mile 7 area.
“Currently, due to the Mile 7 flyover project and the partial closure of the Mile 7 traffic light junction, traffic in the area is already a nightmare.
“If the Mile 7 Basketball Court were to be converted to a Covid-19 testing centre, the traffic jam around the Mile 7 Bazaar will be a disaster,” he said in a Facebook post.
Chong said that the access to the Mile 7 Basketball Court is a single lane road and cannot accommodate vehicles waiting by the roadside.
“Thus, a better alternative for a Covid-19 testing centre in the vicinity of the 7th Mile area will be the KIA.
“This is because it has a huge existing carpark, multi-lane roads to accommodate vehicles waiting by the road side for drive-through testing and the KIA is very under-utilised given the reduction in inbound and outbound flights,” he said.
Chong had visited the Covid-19 testing centre at the Mile 7 Basketball Court, which started operations on Friday (Sept 3) and had discussed with the officers there to better understand the situation.
