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Midland Metropolitan Hospital preparation work set to start next month

Balfour Beatty is set to restart work on the stalled Carillion hospital project as bosses prepare to open the gates to the site next week to prospective contractors interested in finishing the £300m job.

Balfour will be responsible for carrying out preparation and reparation work with the site deteriorating somewhat after laying idle for a period of nine months since Carillion went bust.

The firm has been chosen by the hospital trust as the preferred supplier for a £10m early and enabling works contract, which is expected to take approximately six months to complete. Balfour Beatty’s early works contract will run until spring 2019. At peak construction the company will employ a 50-strong workforce and a range of local supply chain partners.

Specifically, the UK firm will be tasked with the repair and replacement of a number of partially completed elements, including metal balustrading and extract flumes to prevent further deterioration and ensure the scheme remains fully safe and secure.

The latest announcement comes two months after it was revealed that work to finish building the Midland Metropolitan Hospital in Birmingham would start in 2019 after it was revealed that the government would step in to save the private finance initiative scheme.

Under the new agreement public funding would finance the remainder of the construction, in the hope it would eventually open in 2022 – four years later than originally planned.

In May, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Toby Lewis warned that the hospital site was “deteriorating” and rework costs could be “significant” while work remains stagnant and two-thirds complete. Lewis also said the trust predicted it will cost between £100m and £125m more than had originally been anticipated to finish the project.

Commenting on the Balfour appointment, Lewis said: “We are delighted to enter this partnership with Balfour Beatty to take the important next steps in completing the Midland Met.  It has been sad to see the building standing paused for the last nine months, and so it is great news that work will shortly restart.”

Thomas Edgcumbe, managing director of Balfour Beatty’s North and Midlands regional business, added: “We are delighted to be able to support the Trust on this key hospital project which is vital for local residents and the wider community. Our wealth of experience and expertise in the healthcare sector will enable us to recommence work quickly and allow for the successful completion of this early works contract.”

 

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