Larissa Huda, Jakarta – A number of state-owned companies (SOEs) were pushing for the production of medical devices needed in handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

A pharmaceutical firm Indofarma CEO Arief Pramuhanto said his company was collaborating with the University of Indonesia (UI) and state-run weapons manufacturer PT Pindad to produce ventilators or respiratory medical equipment.

Indofarma predicted that it can produce 50 percent of the country's needs of around 30,000 units until September 2020.

"We will sign a cooperation agreement [with UI and Pindad] next week. The production will be carried out by Indofarma. We receive requests up to 300 units until the end of May. At least 70 percent of the raw materials are available in the country," Arief told Tempo on Sunday, April 26.

As for the mask production, Arief said the company was ordering machines from China which will arrive in early May. The device, he said, will be able to produce up to 250,000 medical masks a day by mid-May. "During this third week of May, we will be able to produce 7.5 to 8 million pieces per month," Arief added.

Pindad Corporate Secretary Herryawan Roosdyanto said his company would also manufacture crucial medical equipment, such as Manual Resuscitator Ventilator (Pindad VRM), Covent-20 Ventilator in collaboration with UI, Disinfectant Fog Cannon, Covid-19 Mobile Sterilization Chamber.

Besides, its subsidiary PT Pindad Enjiniring Indonesia (PT PEI) also produced disinfectant liquid and PPE, including face shield helmets and goggles. "Pindad is presently submitting for a feasibility test of the equipment to the Health Facility Security Center (BPFK)," Herryawan said.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1335944/indofarma-70-of-ventilator-raw-materials-available-domestically