Dunedin’s Hospital rebuild has suffered yet another setback in its completion dates, with the Otago Daily Times reporting that the best case scenario is now 2027.
They claim the worst-case scenario is a completion date of 2031, which would be a “part rebuild and part refurbishment on the existing site.” The 2027 completion date is for a rebuild at a “nearby site,” while another option is a “total rebuild on another hospital site” with completion for that site planned at 2027.
On Facebook, David Clark said “we need a new hospital sooner rather than later. Similar sized hospitals in Australia have been built in 4 years. Dunedin hospital rebuild options currently being considered in Wellington have timeframes of 10 years or more. Truth is, the South is not National’s priority.”
He also spoke to stuff.co.nz claiming that the rebuild “may top $1 billion - over three times more than the last official estimate.”
Clark was told by then-Health Minister Tony Ryall that the business case would be ready at the end of 2014. Four years later, it still hasn’t been finalised.