WORK has started on the long-awaited Canberra Hospital expansion project.
Construction of the critical services building kicked off today (November 1) with ACT health minister Rachel Stephen-Smith saying it was a significant milestone for all Canberrans.
“The Critical Services Building is the centrepiece of an ongoing transformation for the Canberra Hospital campus, which will be guided by the ACT Government’s Canberra Hospital Master Plan, to be released in coming weeks,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.
“Demolition work is well progressed and today excavations commence for the new ambulance bay and basement. We expect to see cranes go up early next year.”
The Canberra Hospital expansion, originally called “SPIRE”, was a major election commitment in 2016 when the Labor government pledged it would be open by 2022.
But the project has been plagued with delays and wont be finished until 2024.
More than $500 million will be spent on the hospital expansion which will feature new emergency department treatment spaces, more coronary care unit beds, a cafe terrace, outdoors spaces for patients, visitors, and staff, short-term parking and dedicated pick-up and drop off zones.
Ms Stephen-Smith said the project would create an additional 500 construction jobs in the ACT.
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