Taxpayers to bail out Royal Liverpool hospital project

The Government is set to step in and take control of the stalled Royal Liverpool hospital project.

The trust responsible for the hospital is due to hold a board meeting later today where it will discuss plans to terminate the PFI contract under a break clause that can be actioned if the project is not handed over by the end of this month.

A statement is expected from ministers to coincide with the decision.

According to a Sky News report Matthew Hancock, the health and social care secretary, is understood to have ordered officials to end the impasse surrounding the construction of the hospital, which had been due to open last year.

Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Hospitals NHS Trust meeting papers reveal that the cost of rectifying serious structural faults and condemned cladding is holding up plans because nobody can quantify the cost of finishing the hospital.

Existing PFI investors have been nervous about soaring costs when trying to finalise plans to complete the £350m project.

Laing O’Rourke has been involved in talks about restarting the hospital since Carillion’s collapse at the start of the year.

But progress was halted over risk and the financing commitment for on an open-ended project where guaranteeing existing work would be a problem.

The original cost of the projects was set at £280m although costs have soared to an estimated £350m.

Although the project is at the fit-out stage the final completion bill could still be significantly higher because of significant structural and cladding issues.

One source close to the project said: “There has even been talk that it could be cheaper to pull it down and start again.”

from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2018/09/25/taxpayers-to-bail-out-royal-liverpool-hospital-project/

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