N.S. close to breaking ground on long-awaited Halifax Infirmary expansion project

The province of Nova Scotia says it’s just weeks away from breaking ground on the long-awaited Halifax Infirmary expansion project.

A deal has now been signed with a construction company to pave the way for a new urgent care building featuring more beds, operating rooms and an emergency room.

The provincial government is planning to spend $250 million on the preparation phase of the project.

The minister responsible for the health-care redevelopment projects says work to prepare the site for the new patient tower will begin immediately now that there is an agreement in place with construction firm Plenary PCL Health.

Once the new tower is built it will house more than 200 beds, 16 operating rooms, an ICU and an ER.

“Crews will begin to work to extend the current emergency department providing flexibility for patients during construction,” says Colton LeBlanc. “Excavation and the relocation of mechanical and electrical utilities will also be done to prepare the site.”

Before the cement can be poured for the new build, the Robie Street parkade will need to be demolished. Currently, the garage sees an average of 525 daily parkers. It can hold up to 672 vehicles.

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“Through the summer we will need to vacate the Robie Street parkade and we will well in advance of that have announced the temporary parking locations,” says Dr. Alex Mitchell.

Mitchell is the vice-president of clinical infrastructure at Nova Scotia Health and Build Nova Scotia.

He adds the project will require a constant dialogue between hospital staff and construction teams to mitigate impacts on services.

“Given the pressure the health-care system is under and the demands that our communities and public require to maintain care,” Mitchell says, “we need to do everything we can to make sure there are no service disruptions.”

The QEII Redevelopment Project was first announced by the former Liberal government in 2018 with an estimated $2-billion price tag. The plan includes the expansion and renovation of the infirmary site and a new outpatient centre in Bayers Lake.

In December, the Houston government announced it was changing the scope of the project to speed up its development.

The opposition wants to know how much the price has gone up.

“They said this phase. We don’t know how many phases. We don’t know how much it’s going to cost,” says Liberal MLA Kelly Regan. “There’s a lot of details we don’t have.”

It’s expected the preparation phase of work will wrap up early next year.