Major construction has officially begun on the main building of South Australia’s new Women’s and Children’s Hospital, marking an important milestone for the major health project.
Over the next three months, two specialist piling rigs will install 287 concrete piles beneath the future clinical building.
Measuring between 16 and 31 metres long, the piles will form the structural foundations supporting the hospital’s columns and the weight of the building above.
A specialist team of engineers, operators and construction experts has been brought to the site to complete the works.
Acting Premier Kyam Maher said the start of piling represented another significant step forward for the project.
“It’s incredibly exciting to see this project continue to progress on schedule and with momentum, now moving from the early design phase into enabling works construction,” Mr Maher said.
“In the not-too-distant future, it will become a vital clinical space providing enhanced care and support for generations of patients to come.”
Construction is also advancing on the hospital’s adjoining 1,300-space car park. The roof has now been completed, while the installation of more than 1,700 façade panels is expected to be finalised shortly.
The hospital’s schematic design phase has also passed 90 per cent completion.
This stage of the project establishes the hospital’s internal layout and allows preliminary floorplans to be developed.
More than 1,500 clinical and non-clinical staff from the Women’s and Children’s Health Network have contributed feedback throughout the design process, alongside 68 patients and family members.
The completed hospital will provide 414 overnight beds across the health network, including 20 beds reserved for future expansion. This represents an increase of 56 beds compared with the existing hospital.
Plans also include five additional operating theatres, 18 overnight oncology beds and five additional neonatal cots.
The neonatal unit will feature single rooms throughout, while the hospital will have a larger Emergency Department.
The Intensive Care Unit for women will also be located alongside the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, allowing the specialist services to operate in close proximity.
Minister for Health and Wellbeing Blair Boyer said the hospital had been designed to grow alongside South Australia’s population.
“This is an important project for our state and the activity we see on site today represents the progress being made towards a purpose-built hospital designed around the needs of patients, families and healthcare teams,” Mr Boyer said.
“We’re proud that the project is on track to be delivered on time in 2031.”
The development is also supporting South Australian jobs, with local residents completing 95.75 per cent of the project’s total onsite labour hours.
This exceeds the State Government’s target of 90 per cent.
The new Women’s and Children’s Hospital remains scheduled for completion in 2031.
