(Yicai Global) April 14 -- A unit under state-owned China Petrochemical, better known as Sinopec and one of China’s biggest petrochemical firms, is rebuilding a camp at one of its construction sites to create the first makeshift hospital for Covid-19 patients in Kuwait.

The facility will be able to house 1,700 patients and will be a key venue for treating those infected with the virus, news site The Paper reported today, adding that the hospital should be up and running by April 20.

Kuwait has a population of 4.7 million and had confirmed 1,300 Covid-19 cases as of noon today Beijing time, the report continued, saying the country desperately needs more makeshift hospitals and testing kits.

The site for Sinopec’s hospital spans about 170,000 square meters in the desert in Al Zour in southern Kuwait and has 1,066 staff dormitories as well as a canteen, medical room and bathrooms. It was originally set up for employees to build the Al Zour Refinery, Sinopec Fifth Construction’s largest refinery in the Middle East, though workers left the camp after finishing work in October.

Editor: James Boynton