Today the state government announced that local South Australian family-owned business McMahon Services had been selected as the preferred contractor for the first stage of demolition at the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site.
Selection of the preferred contractor signifies the return of more than two hectares of hospital land to the Adelaide Botanic Garden, making more than 70% of the site open to the public.
“We applaud this exciting announcement on the commencement of the first stage of the demolition of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site, particularly the plans to return two hectares of land to the Adelaide Botanic Garden and the creation of new links, new vistas and a new entrance.” – Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium Chair, Judy Potter
Stage 1 is expected to begin in December 2017 and the first of the buildings to be demolished are the Cobalt, East and Hone Wings of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital.
“High levels of expertise will be required to remove buildings up to 12 storeys and the contractors will need to ensure that noise and dust are kept to a minimum.” – Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, The Hon Stephen Mullighan, MP
These obsolete buildings were built between 1950 and 1980, and predominantly consist of a mix of metals, concrete and masonry, which have to be separated, processed and then removed from site. Some also contain asbestos which will be appropriately removed and processed. All waste will be processed appropriately, and either taken off site or recycled and reused. Heritage buildings will be retained and refurbished.
The old Royal Adelaide Hospital site demolition works are expected to be the most extensive South Australia has ever seen, creating significant demand for the industry for up to two years. It is anticipated that Stage 1 demolition alone will generate 95 local jobs.
The combined cost of demolition and remediation of the site is estimated to be in excess of $150 million and will be completed through several staged public tenders.
A redevelopment announcement will soon be made about the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site, which is expected to generate more than $1 billion in investment and support 600 construction jobs. The state government is also finalising details on a planned range of activations, events and other opportunities aimed at drawing people to the site, and the wider East End precinct, during redevelopment.