awaited outback hospital reaches practical completion amid another cost blowout
The new Laverton Hospital in Western Australia has reached practical completion at a cost of $67.6 million, significantly exceeding its original budget. Government officials defended the expenditure as necessary for delivering critical health infrastructure to remote regions.
Why it matters
The project highlights the challenges and high costs associated with maintaining public health infrastructure in isolated, rural communities.
Roger Cook (second from right) and Meredith Hammat (centre) announce practical completion of the $67.6 million Laverton Hospital. ( ABC Goldfields: Nick Ward )
Construction of the new Laverton Hospital in WA's northern Goldfields has reached practical completion.
The new eight-bed hospital cost $67.6 million after a $37.5 million tender was awarded last year.
The hospital is set to open its doors to patients for the first time this week.
Link copied Share Share article WA's Health Minister Meredith Hammat has defended the cost of a new eight-bed outback hospital, which has reached practical completion at a cost of $67.6 million, or more than three times the original budget from 2015.
Construction of the new Laverton Hospital began last year to replace the aging facility, which was built in 1973 for the northern Goldfields community, about 950 kilometres north-east of Perth.
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