national

Emergency call system planned for early 2009

Panama’s 911 emergency call system is expected to cost around $70 million to put in place.

The company that wins the contract to install the system wil also hire the people to work it.

Carlos Lemos/ LA PRENSA

Donation: The Club Activo 20-30 formally delivered their donation of 23 ambulances worth 2.5 million to the SUME 911 board yesterday. 1047390

Panama's emergency telephone system, the Sistema Único de Manejo de Emergencias (SUME 911) will be operational in February 2009 and cost roughly $70 million to put in place, ministro de Innovación Gubernamental Gaspar Tarté reported yesterday.

Of that sum, $66 million will be provided by the State and $2.5 million by the Club Activo 20-30, in the form of 23 ambulances. Another $1.8 million will come from a 1 percent monthly tax on telecommunications services, as approved by law last year.

“Ninety-two percent of cell phone users will pay nothing. Pay phone and prepaid service users won't pay anything either. Only fixed line, non-residential commercial users and corporate contract cell phone users will pay,” Tarté said.

In the first phase of the system, only the city of Panama will be covered. Afterward, coverage will be extended to Colón and then to the rest of the country.

“When the system is fully functional, there will be around 700 people working for 911,” according to Roberto Velásquez, president of the SUME board and director of the Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil ( Sinaproc).

The company that wins the contract for the installation and management of the system in its first phase will be in charge of hiring and training employees, including not only doctors, paramedics and nurses, but also the computer and telecommunications technicians responding to emergency calls at the SUME 911 command center. That contract is expected to be awarded in August.