22 July 2019

Construction of Canberra Hospital’s SPIRE Centre pushed back to 2021

| Lachlan Roberts
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The ACT Government tender said due to the complexity of the project and desire to ensure that construction works can commence early in 2021, it has decided that an early contractor involvement procurement will be adopted.

The Government will also engage a law firm with specialist construction experience to provide legal advice and assist in the formulation of the contractual framework to inform the approach to the market and subsequent engagement of a construction contractor for SPIRE.

The contract for the legal firm to assist in the procurement will be awarded next month.

The procurement and delivery of SPIRE is being managed by the newly created Major Projects Canberra Agency on behalf of Canberra Health Services and ACT Health.

The tender revealed that expressions of interest to build SPIRE will be released in September-October 2019, with the construction company not appointed until June/July 2020 and the legal firm to be involved in the selection and negotiation process in time for construction to begin in the first quarter of 2021.

ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith is adamant the project remains on track. Photo: George Tsotsos.

SPIRE received funding in the 2019-20 Budget and despite the construction setback, Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith still believes the centre will be completed in 2023-24.

“The project remains on track to be delivered in 2023-24,” the minister’s spokesperson said. Nothing has changed since previous guidance by the ACT Government.

“There is no delay in the final delivery of the SPIRE project. Early works commence this year and continue into 2020, which includes demolition, site preparation, and construction activities.”

The expanded SPIRE Centre would include more emergency department spaces, a dedicated mental health short-stay unit, double the number of intensive care beds, and additional operating theatres, as well as medical and diagnostic services.

Demolition of buildings on the SPIRE site, on the north-eastern side of the hospital campus between Hospital Road and Palmer Street, will begin later this year and work on relocating current services is underway.

Liberal MLA Vicki Dunne said the fact that the ACT Government’s key health 2016 election promise won’t begin until after the 2020 Election follows a series of project failures including blown out completion dates and logistical and budgetary bungles.

“Successive Labor Health Ministers have broken commitments to renew the hospital. We now have a new Health Minister and already it’s business as usual for Labor,” Ms Dunne said.

“Our hospitals are under maximum pressure due to 18 years of neglect under Labor governments.

“Canberrans are paying for a world-class health system but it’s quite obvious that health is a low priority for Labor.”

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Maybe they can paint some chevrons on the hospital to increase capacity.
Capacity is what the Tuggeranong parkway needed but it got chevrons instead.

Sounding as though Labor needs the money for other purposes in the lead-up to the election…

HiddenDragon6:47 pm 22 Jul 19

The roadside signs which appeared during the 2016 ACT election (after Labor back-flipped on the need for a new hospital) said “we can have light rail and a new hospital” – maybe there was fine print at the bottom of those signs which said “but not until after the election after this one”.

There’s a little bit of history on this subject here –

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-10/canberra-liberals-pledge-400-million-for-new-hospital-building/7711656

Looking at Labor’s past performance on this issue, does anyone seriously believe that if the Woden light rail goes ahead, there won’t be further delays with a new hospital?

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