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Wembley company to build new Glasgow hospital

STV News learns Brookfield Multiplex – who delivered the stadium millions of pounds over budget and two years late – will build the new South Glasgow Hospital.

04 November 2009 17:03 GMT

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Wembley company to build new Glasgow hospital

The contract to build the new South Glasgow Hospital has gone to an Australian company who delivered the new Wembley Stadium two years late and millions of pounds over budget.

Two Scottish construction firms – Balfour Beatty and Laing O’Rourke – were bidding for the contract to secure the deal over the last few months. They both have experience in building hospitals in Scotland before.

But it has emerged on Wednesday night that Brookfield Multiplex has got the job. The new South Glasgow hospital is due to be completed by 2015 at a cost of £550 million.

The scheme will see the existing Southern General Hospital (pictured) rebuilt and refurbished to form the new South Glasgow Hospital.

It will be one of the largest acute hospitals in the UK with one of the biggest Emergency Departments in Scotland.

A source close to the process told STV News he was "disappointed that a non-Scottish based contractor with non-Scottish based design team were successful but that they can't be too bitter (as), they perhaps had the best bid and price".

At a cost of £757 million, the Wembley Stadium project was one of the most high-profile stadium contract in the world.

The 90,000 capacity building was originally scheduled to open in 2005 but the construction phase was beset with problems with Brookfield missing a series of completion deadlines.

The delays forced events such as the 2006 FA Cup final to be played in Cardiff, with several music events also cancelled. 
The stadium's doors finally opened in 2007.

Since then millions of football and music fans have been to the ground, with little doubt in their minds that the Football Association has been left with a superb stadium.

The stadium also recently hosted the American football game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots.

Brookfield is currently in a legal battle with the stadium designer.

There has been some suggestion on Wednesday night that Brookfield’s bid was cheaper than the bids from the other two construction companies.

It is understood the official announcement by NHS Greater and Glasgow and Clyde is set to come out later this week.

The board has made no comment on the news.
 

Last updated: 04 November 2009, 17:20

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  1. Default avatar

    1. 19 Nov 2009 15:30Missch said

    I would like to know how much of our money goes to pay for people who are employed to pick construction companies on a points system for public buildings. What are their qualifications – what do they know about construction? Who designed the points system which is obviously flawed?

    Take the recent example of the new Southern General Hospital in Glasgow awarded to Brookfields/Multiplex. Please name a hospital they have completed in the UK. Are we going to trust a company who has never built a hospital even in Europe to build the largest Acute hospital in Europe let alone Scotland.

    The largest hospital I can find that Multiplex have built is Casey Hospital, Victoria, Australia just 229 beds, slight difference to 1109 beds for Glasgow.

    The Australian/Canadian company only came to the UK in 1999 completing two jobs – West Stand Chelsea FC then Wembley Stadium. Everyone knows what a disaster that was, not a few months late but 2 years!!

    Their total number of staff in UK is 120 based in London, so no Scottish staff and no Scottish supply chain. Why trust a company that is not actually going to do the majority of the work themselves when there are two good companies that were on the list that have a track record of building hospitals on time and in budget that are based in Scotland.

    I would also like to know why each contractor that accepts bids for public work have to spend c.£2m each. Would it not be better for the system to be re-worked so that this money is better put to use refurbishing or building small public projects.

    Would it not be better to get rid of the consultants, the point system staff and choose a construction company that has a successful track record of building safely to time and budget thus saving us the tax payer.

    Is there a budding “John Pilger” at STV who could so some investigative journalism into this public scandal of procurement of public buildings in Scotland?

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