Two new hospitals under construction by Carillion when it collapsed will be years late and hundreds of millions of pounds over budget, report reveals
- Work on both of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects stopped in 2018
- The 646-bed Royal Liverpool is expected to be finished more than five years late
- The 669-bed Midland Metropolitan in Birmingham will be nearly four years late
Two hospitals being built by engineering giant Carillion when it collapsed will open years later than planned and cost hundreds of millions more than expected, a damning report has revealed.
Work on both PFI (Private Finance Initiative) projects stopped in 2018 as hospitals, the Government and investors attempted to salvage them.
The 646-bed Royal Liverpool was due to open in 2017 but is now expected to be finished more than five years late, the National Audit Office (NAO) said.
Two hospitals being built by engineering giant Carillion when it collapsed will open years later than planned and cost hundreds of millions more than expected, a damning report has revealed
The cost has risen to more than £1billion, with the taxpayer contributing £739million – slightly less than originally planned.
The private sector has borne most of the cost increase.
The 669-bed Midland Metropolitan in Birmingham is now due to open in 2022, nearly four years late, at a cost of at least £988million – £300million more than expected.
Taxpayers will contribute £709million, 3 per cent more than first thought.
The NAO said there were major problems on both projects before Carillion folded.
Work on both PFI (Private Finance Initiative) projects stopped in 2018 as hospitals, the Government and investors attempted to salvage them. Pictured: The site of 669-bed Midland Metropolitan in Birmingham which is now due to open in 2022
Gail Cartmail, of the Unite union, said the report made ‘grim reading’.
She added: ‘Two desperately needed hospitals are going to be years late and in the meantime local communities are left with facilities that are no longer fit for purpose.
‘The responsibility for these delays has to lie squarely at the door of the government, which consistently failed to prioritise the overriding need that these hospitals had to be built.
‘While the report notes the financial cost of the projects.
‘The human cost of the delays of completing the hospitals has not been recognised.’