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 other UK construction firms operating in Scotland – 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 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 contracts in the world. The 90,000 capacity stadium 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.
