Laing O’Rourke has been named the lead contractor for the 3Ts Redevelopment of the Royal Sussex County Hospital, after the contract was signed yesterday confirming plans.
The £484 million investment will see construction begin in the first half of 2016. The nine year project will redevelop the front half of the Royal Sussex County Hospital site, with two new state-of-the-art hospital buildings replacing the current out-dated facilities. The first of the new buildings is due to open in 2020 and the second in 2023. The hospital will continue to run all its clinical services on site throughout the redevelopment.
Paul Lynchehaun, Laing O’Rourke’s project director said: “We are delighted to have reached this pivotal point and the whole project team is now clearly focused on delivering the redevelopment of the hospital. The redevelopment will not only deliver an improved hospital site fit for future needs but as importantly; will also provide apprenticeships, graduate placements and jobs for people who live locally. Laing O’Rourke looks forward to working with the Trust and the communities of Brighton and Sussex over the coming years to leave a positive legacy for both hospital users and the communities it serves.”
Julian Lee, Chair of the Board said, “We are very pleased to be working in partnership with Laing O’Rourke who have experience of hospital construction both in this country and internationally. Redeveloping the hospital in its current location does present a range of challenges but Laing O’Rourke have experience of delivering complex projects on sites even more constrained than ours. This experience combined with their understanding of the sensitivities of working in hospital settings is one of the reasons we selected them as our main contractor.”
The first building to be redeveloped will be handed over to Laing O’Rourke between January and June 2016. Once the handover period is complete, the whole south-east quarter of the hospital will be under construction. However the Cancer Centre will remain open and functioning throughout the entire project.
To ensure the smooth running of the hospital during the initial building works, the area for the first new building will be given over to construction in sections between January and June 2016. At the end of that period the entire south-east quarter of the hospital, with the exception of the Cancer Centre, will be undergoing construction.