WHO CAN BUILD A HOSPITAL IN SIX DAYS?

WHO CAN BUILD A HOSPITAL IN SIX DAYS?

I just read a ridiculous story today that stated, “The Chinese city of Wuhan is set to build a hospital in six days in order to treat patients suspected of contracting the coronavirus.” Of course, we all know that is just Chinese propaganda and it is impossible to accomplish something this massive in that short a time frame. Then I read further. In fact, a hospital was built in Beijing to help tackle the Sars virus in 2003, but it took them seven days! Yikes, how is that even possible?

Both hospitals are or will be made out of prefabricated building materials. Hospitals in Wuhan have been flooded with concerned residents and pharmacies are running out of medicine with the outbreak of the coronavirus. According to state media, the new hospital will contain about 1,000 beds. It's basically a quarantined hospital where they send people with infectious diseases so it has the safety and protective gear in place. Inside, it will have an X-ray room, CT room, intensive-care unit, and laboratory. Each ward will be equipped with its own bathrooms. And it will be operating in less than a week's time!

I guess I shouldn’t have been so skeptical when you read about some of China’s other major engineering feats. For example, consider the Beijing subway system. The Beijing Subway opened in 1969 and is the oldest metro system in mainland China. Before 2002, the subway consisted of only two lines. Then China was awarded the 2008 Summer Olympics and the Chinese kicked subway construction into high gear. In six years, Beijing built three new subway lines for a total of five in 2008. Today it boasts 23 subway lines - an increase of 18 lines in the past eleven years. So why can’t they build a measly hospital in six days?

Further evidence of Chinese engineering prowess and “Get-er-done” mentality is on display when you examine the bullet train system. With the longest high-speed rail network in the world, China has achieved the goal of the Four Vertical and Four Horizontal High-Speed Networks by the end of 2017. They will soon complete a national grid of high-speed railways with eight north-south routes and eight east-west routes that will crisscross all of China with bullet trains that travel at 250-350 km/hour. So why can’t they build a measly hospital in six days?

This high-speed rail miracle that has been built in China caused me to reflect on the potentially magnificent rapid rail line that may be built between Calgary and Edmonton. This massive 300 km challenge ( the Chinese rapid rail network spans 35,000 km) has been a topic of speculation for over fifty years. A formal Alberta government study first examined the prospects for high-speed rail in 1985. Five more studies have followed in 2004, 2008, 2010, 2014, and 2019, with the latest proposal currently sitting in bureaucratic government limbo. Thirty-four years to discuss, debate, examine and consult, and the quickest way to get to Edmonton from Calgary is still a three-hour drive by car!

If someone should ask you if the Alberta government can build a hospital in six days, I think you know the answer?