Geraldton Health Campus: Three companies express interest in $123 million upgrade tender says Mark McGowan

Three companies have officially registered their interest to build the $123 million redevelopment of Geraldton Health Campus, with Premier Mark McGowan confident work will start “as soon as we can”. Australian Building Construction Company (ADCO), Lend Lease and Multiplex Constructions responded to the expression of interest invitation, with their submissions for the managing contractor role under evaluation. The project has been plagued with delays and last year the State Government was forced to boost the budget from $73.3 million to $122.7 million after the initial tender process proved fruitless. In Geraldton on Sunday, Mr McGowan said the project was one of many disrupted by the COVID pandemic and skyrocketing construction demand which had sent costs “through the roof”. “What we’ve done is we’ve reappraised the budget, we’ve allocated $122m to the hospital, we’ve got some very reputable builders as part of the EOI process so we look forward to getting it under way as soon as we possibly can,” he said. “We’ve put more money in, we’ll make it happen as soon as possible ... the builders all look very solid, the project is fully funded so it will be a terrific addition to the health infrastructure of Geraldton and surrounds.” As part of the major revamp, the hospital’s emergency department will be expanded and a new intensive care unit with a redeveloped high dependency unit and a new integrated mental health service will be built. The next step will see a shortlist of companies invited to progress to the request for proposal stage, where one or more will be selected to undertake negotiations for managing contractor appointment. The design of the health campus, including functional and technical requirements, delivery timeframe and ensuring the region’s Aboriginal culture, landmarks and history are reflected in the project, will be confirmed through that process. \ Geraldton MLA Lara Dalton said the project had reached an exciting milestone. “I know the people of Geraldton and surrounding regions will be pleased to see this project moving to its next stage,” she said. Shadow health minister and Liberal leader Libby Mettam said it was extraordinary that after six years the project was still in the expression of interest stage. “The upgrades promised by the McGowan Government during the 2017 election campaign will be outdated by the time they are completed,” she said. Ms Mettam said the upgrade was projected to meet demand for 2024-25 levels, but at the earliest it won’t be finished until 2026.