The $300m hospital bonanza
It’s the biggest investment in Taranaki since Think Big. Stephanie Ockhuysen reports on what the $300 million hospital wing could mean for the region.
It’s well known tradies love a pie and soon builders, plumbers, electricians and the like will be hoping to get a piece of the $300 million one coming to Taranaki. Taranaki Base Hospital’s state-of-the-art $300m new wing will be the biggest investment into the region in years and has the potential to benefit every sector.
Builder Colin Webber works in residential house builds and renovations rather than commercial, but says the project could put a strain on smaller building companies in the region that may lose staff to the hospital project.
‘‘We could lose them because they think they’ll earn an extra dollar up there. What I would suggest is if people are thinking of a project while this is on, think way ahead.
‘‘I get so many calls like ‘can you come and do this?’ and they want it done in the next month. Builders are busy and people need to think if they want to do a project in 12 months time, they need to call the builder now.’’
Webber, who has previously been a site manager on hospital builds in the UK, says with a project of this size the main contractor would have their preferred sub contractors they’d want to bring in.
‘‘When Fletchers did it last time, a lot of their sub contractors came from out of the region. It probably will mean work for local people but I’d also say a lot of people will move here because of it.
‘‘But it’s positive for the region and a good problem to have. Get some more people in and let them find out what a great place it is to live and work.’’
The east wing, the second stage of the hospital’s Project Maunga redevelopment, will begin in late 2020 and construction is forecast to last three years.
It will cost more than three times what the $80m Stage One did.
And Stage One was a big project. Initial planning started in 2007 and it wasn’t until 2011 that construction began.
It included six new operating theatres, ambulatory elective surgery and procedure services, and a new inpatient ward block, took three years to build and employed 1350 people.
Fletchers Construction managed that build with the support of 60 sub-contractors, many of which were local.
Stage two, funded from the $1.7 billion set aside in the Government’s budget for hospitals and health facilities, will house an extra 116 beds. The critical and acute care facilities will include a new Emergency Department that will be twice as large as the current ED and Intensive Care Unit.
There will also be a rooftop helipad, purpose-built maternity facilities and delivery suite, a new postnatal ward and neonatal unit, and upgraded laboratory and radiology services.
It will also have a dedicated wha¯ nau area for the care of tupapaku (deceased), which will incorporate a viewing room and will allow people to spend time with their relatives and loved ones in a culturally appropriate environment.
Taranaki District Health Board chief executive Rosemary Clements said it won’t be until after a detailed business case is completed in March that they will know how many jobs will be created. "As with the last build, Project Maunga Stage One, we’ll endeavour to ensure as many local people are employed as possible.
"However, with external people coming into the region to work on the build it certainly helps to boost the local economy, especially in terms of hospitality and housing for the workforce." It’s currently unknown which company will get the construction contract but New Plymouth company Clelands Construction says it would draw interest from main contractors outside the region which had the systems and experience to deliver projects of this scale and complexity.
‘‘These main contractors will need to draw on local resources in order to deliver the project economically and effectively and this will have a significant impact on the local construction market for the duration of the build,’’ managing director Michael Braggins says.
A project of this size could also permanently change the job market in Taranaki in terms of construction and healthcare.
Justine Gilliland, chief executive of Venture Taranaki, the regional economic development agency, says while she anticipated there would be many opportunities for local providers, developing any building of this scale will require specialist skillsets that aren’t resident in Taranaki.
‘‘As a major construction project the build will see the creation of jobs, skills, and cashflow throughout the regional economy, while it will have longer-term benefits in terms of attracting people to the region, both to work in the healthcare sector and to live, work and invest.’’
As well as bringing more people into the region, the project could force local firms to innovate. A number of contracts will be up for grabs but securing them will be a fiercely competitive process.
Taranaki Chamber of Commerce chief executive Arun Chaudhari says businesses in the region needed to make sure they were at the top of their game to ensure locals got contracts.
The project will provide a lot of jobs but also training opportunities for Western Institute of Technology students, he says.
‘‘To have more modern facilities available and such a big investment, I can’t think of another investment that’s been this large.
‘‘We need to encourage locals to lift their game so they can compete.’’
Taranaki has experienced massive infrastructure investment before.
The Think Big projects of the 1980s by Rob Muldoon’s National Government saw hundreds of millions of dollars invested in ambitious projects in Taranaki to make use of the region’s fossil fuel resources.
Although Think Big saw money invested, thousands of jobs created, and people brought into the region, it never achieved what Muldoon hoped.
Many of the plants went through periods where they were shut down only later to have more significant amounts of money invested to get them back up and running.
New Plymouth district councillor, Taranaki District Health Board member, and former MP Harry Duynhoven says there’s no comparison between Think Big and the Government’s investment in the hospital.
‘‘Think Big was a disaster for New Zealand in many ways, but this is not.
‘‘This is a long term project which has been on the cards for years. It’s a considerable upgrade and as the health board is the largest employer in Taranaki it’s important staff have good working conditions and a modern and efficient hospital.’’
Duynhoven says people were expecting the build to begin tomorrow but refining the design so it was efficient took time.
Many of the critical facilities are at the end of their working life if not well past it, he says.
‘‘I think the maternity ward is pretty much the same as when I was born.’’
‘‘What I would suggest is if people are thinking of a project while this is on, think way ahead." Taranaki builder Colin Webber
"We need to encourage locals to lift their game so they can compete." Taranaki Chamber of Commerce CEO Arun Chaudhari
‘‘Any building of this scale will require specialist skillsets that aren’t resident in Taranaki." Venture Taranaki CEO Justine Gilliland