Demolition work has begun on the Royal Hobart Hospital, nearly a year after the project was halted because of budget blowouts.
Tasmania’s Health Minister, Michael Ferguson, is shrugging off a six-month delay in getting the redevelopment project underway again.
The Government put the $657 million project on hold last May, while a taskforce reviewed the project.
In December, Mr Ferguson confirmed it would proceed with some major changes and has now announced demolition works had recommenced.
Mr Ferguson said the project on the Liverpool Street site was back on track.
“The taskforce work is certainly responsible for six months of the delay, but I would put the view that were it not for that investment this project probably couldn’t have happened at all,” he said.”
With demolition work underway, some building contracts are set to go out for tender within weeks.
The Minister has inspected demolition works in the former executive offices.
The offices are being converted into clinical rooms for oncology services, which are being relocated during construction.
One of the hospital’s main buildings, B-Block, will be demolished next April.
“We need to empty that building before we can demolish it but we need to satisfactorily protect our patients so that’s the key part of that work,” the Minister said.
Mr Ferguson hoped a temporary building to house mental health and long-stay patients would be built this year, with the full redevelopment finished by the end of 2018.