Builders have completed the first major concrete pour for the new $1.8 billion Women and Babies Hospital in Murdoch.
The work marks the beginning of the four-year project, which will see a new 12-storey hospital constructed within the Fiona Stanley Hospital precinct.
The hospital will expand services and care for women and their infants by offering advanced inpatient facilities for gynaecology and maternity patients, a neonatology unit for newborns, operating theatres, a family birth centre and outpatient clinics.
Two multi-deck carparks will also be built to meet the increased patient capacity.
The major works began on Tuesday, May 19. About 2200cbm of concrete was poured into the construction site over 12 hours to create the hospital base.
This will be followed by further pours to form a 10,000sqm ground slab, which will be about half the size of Optus Stadium.
Health Minister Meredith Hammat said the final project would strengthen WA’s healthcare system.
“This unprecedented expansion of our public health system will deliver a significant increase in bed capacity to meet our growing community needs with modern, purpose-built facilities,” she said.
The first tower crane also arrived at the site on Tuesday. It is at 35m tall and able to lift objects weighing 13 tonnes.
Seven other cranes will be delivered to help construct the hospital. The cranes are all fully electric to reduce emissions.
The project, alongside a major facilities expansion at Osborne Park Hospital, marks WA’s biggest hospital building program, with the Cook Government investing $5.5 billion to deliver it.
Camera IconThe first major concrete pour has been completed at the new Women and Babies Hospital in Murdoch. Credit: Supplied
Activity at the construction site is expected to be full steam ahead, with work on the building’s main above-ground structures and the hospital’s main floors expected to start before the end of the year.
Health Infrastructure Minister John Carey said the government was setting a rapid pace, with more projects in the pipeline.
“The first major concrete pour and arrival of the first of eight tower cranes has occurred about six months after breaking ground on the new Women and Babies Hospital,” he said.
“We are also delivering a new emergency department at Royal Perth Hospital and new and upgraded hospitals across regional WA.”