SINGAPORE (Apr 9): The rising Covid-19 cases in Singapore is doing damage to the local dormitory sector. Westlite Toh Guan, a workers’ dormitory operated by Centurion Corp, was one of the two dormitories identified as a new cluster, with 34 cases as of April 7. As a result, its 6,800 residents — together with 13,000 from S11 Dormitory @ Punggol — will be quarantined for 14 days.
“We recognise this is a fast-moving situation requiring rapid response, and we have progressively tightened precautionary measures over the past few months,” Centurion’s CEO Kong Chee Min tells The Edge Singapore. These measures include investing in more manpower and resources such as security systems and thermal scanners as well as increasing cleaning and hygiene management.
Westlite Toh Guan is one of the five workers’ dormitories under Centurion’s portfolio in Singapore, which has a total of 28,000 beds. In addition, Centurion runs another seven such facilities in Malaysia, with a total of 30,700 beds. When an eighth dormitory is completed in FY2021, another 9,800 beds will be added. Collectively, Centurion’s workers’ dormitory segment raked $86 million, or 85% of the group’s total revenue for FY2019 ended Dec 31.
