A massive 2,200 cubic meters of concrete has been pumped on a major Perth hospital project as the first concrete pour on the project has taken place.

And the first of eight tower cranes that will be used on the project has arrived on site.

The Western Australian Government has announced that the first concrete pour has taken place on the Womens and Babies Hospital.

Set to open in 2029, the new 12-story hospital will be located at the Fiona Stanley Hospital precinct in Murdoch about 10 kilometers south of the Perth CBD.

It will replace the aging King Edward Memorial Hospital in Subiaco.

Upon opening, the new hospital will deliver an expanded range of services for women, children and families.

Features will include:

  • 274 beds
  • inpatient facilities for gynecology and maternity patients
  • a neonatology unit for newborns needing specialised care
  • operating theatres
  • a family birth centre; and
  • outpatient clinics.

Two new multi-deck carparks will also be built on the site.

 

The new hospital is part of a broader $1.8 billion project which aims to deliver world-class facilities for women, newborns and families across three sites.

Aside from the new hospital and car parks, this includes a major expansion of Osborne Park Hospital and expanded neonatal services at Perth Children’s Hospital.

All up, more than 2,2000 cubic meters has been poured at the site during the first pour.

This equates to around two thirds of an Olympic sized swimming pool.

The pour is expected to be the single largest that will occur on the project.

It will help to create a central foundation that will support building’s lifts and stairwells.

The pour occurred over more than 12 hours and involved three mobile concrete pumps. These delivered around 150-200 cubic metres of concrete an hour.

Further pours at ground level will take place later this year. These will form the roughly 10,000 square metre ground slab – an area around half the size of Optus Stadium.

Meanwhile, the first tower crane for the project has recently been assembled.

Standing at 35 metres tall, the crane is able to lift objects weighing up to 13 tonnes. This equates to the equivalent of two adult elephants.

Along with six others, the crane will operate around the perimeter of the site footprint. This represents an area of more than 25,000 square metres.

An eighth crane will be at the centre of the site and will play a critical role in the construction of the main building core.

All eight cranes will be fully electric. As well as being quieter to operate, this means that they will produce fewer emissions and will contribute to a more sustainable construction process.

According to the government, the use of multiple tower cranes on site will help achieve a faster build program.

This will support the planned opening of the new hospital in 2029.

Moving forward, on-site activity will accelerate over the remainder of the year.

This includes:

  • commencement of construction on the building’s main above-ground structures;
  • pouring of the ground slab; and
  • commencement of construction of the hospital’s main floors.

The hospital is being delivered by global construction firm Webuild together with its Australian subsidiary Clough.

The architectural design of the hospital and surrounding precinct spaces was led by Architectus whilst Georgiou Group has been awarded the contract to build the initial multi-deck car parks at the site.

All up, around 1,400 local jobs will be created during construction.

WA Health Minister Meridith Hammat welcomed the latest progress.

“The development of WA’s state-of-the-art new Women and Babies Hospital in the Fiona Stanley Hospital precinct is well and truly underway,” Hammat said.

 

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