69652 (2024). Dr Tracey McLellan to the Minister for Infrastructure

69652 (2024). Dr Tracey McLellan to the Minister for Infrastructure: When the Minister referred to the cost of the new Dunedin hospital approaching $3 billion, did that estimate include any expense for refurbishing the existing ward block; if so, what was that estimate?

Hon Chris Bishop: What I have said publicly is that the cost of NDH is “approaching $3 billion”. My concern about the cost approaching $3 billion is informed by advice from Health NZ indicating that the total budget of $1.88 billion is not enough to deliver the project as currently designed, even without including the costs for the pathology lab, refurbishment of existing facilities, and car parking. Health NZ’s advice was informed by three additional cost assurance measures, including (1) a developed design cost estimate from its Quantity Surveyor, (2) a target cost submission from its main contractor that came in several hundred million dollars over the budget of $1.88b, and (3) an independent quantitative risk analysis.