Royal Adelaide Hospital construction behind schedule, report confirms

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The new Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) will not be completed until the second half of 2016, an independent review has confirmed.

The hospital had been scheduled to be finished in April, however the State Government said a further $176.6 million would be needed to transition from the current hospital to the new RAH.

Health Minister Jack Snelling refused to call the extra cost a blow-out and said the exact cost of the transition could not have been foreseen when the hospital was announced 10 years ago.

Mr Snelling said the hospital would be completed no later than the end of 2016.

“We are allowing 73 days for the transition from the old to the new hospital, meaning both hospitals may be operating for up to two and half months,” he said.

“This will give us the flexibility we need to deal with any eventuality including us taking possession of the hospital in late winter or early spring.

“This is the most complex transition project the state has ever undertaken and I won’t compromise on patient safety.”

Mr Snelling said the SA Health Partnership consortium was still insisting April 2016 would be their delivery date.

“There’s been no change to the contract … however we’ve had an independent review done of their construction to-date and that would indicate that delivery will probably be in the second half of 2016,” he said.

A South Australian parliamentary inquiry heard last month construction was three months behind schedule.

Government project director Judith Carr told the Budget and Finance Committee the SA Health Partnership consortium, which included Hansen Yuncken, Leighton Contractors, Macquarie and Spotless, had blamed the delay on a need to clean up soil contamination.

Opposition spokesperson for health Stephen Wade said the notification came as no surprise.

“It’s been an open secret in South Australia for months that the new Royal Adelaide Hospital would not be delivered on time,” he said.

“The Government has denied it time and time again.”

The $1.8 billion hospital at the western end of North Terrace is being built to replace the current RAH.