Nepean Hospital’s $576million Stage 1 redevelopment is underway with the first concrete slab poured for the new multi-storey car park.
Stuart Ayres MP, Member for Penrith and Minister for Western Sydney, joined Tanya Davies, Member for Mulgoa as the first of 45 trucks arrived to deliver 650 tonnes of concrete for the car park’s ground slab.
Stuart Ayres said the car park, on the corner of Parker Street and Barber Avenue, is part of the NSW Government’s $1 billion commitment to the Nepean Hospital Redevelopment.
In March this year, the NSW Government committed at least $450 million to deliver a Stage 2 of the Nepean Redevelopment, bringing the Liberals & Nationals Government’s commitment to renewing Western Sydney’s hospitals to $4.9 billion.
“The car park will provide more than 600 car spaces, including 14 accessible car spaces and a new roof top helipad,” Stuart Ayres said.
“We’ve prioritised the car park to free up space to construct a world-class hospital tower that will deliver an expanded emergency department, more than 200 overnight beds, more than 12 new operating theatres, 18 birthing suites and a new neonatal intensive care unit,” Stuart Ayres said.
Also onsite for the concrete pour were five local Aboriginal high school students who have been selected to participate in a construction trainee program lead by building contractors, CPB in partnership with Aboriginal learning organisation Diz Footprints.
Mrs Davies said the program, launched today, will provide mentorship and a career pathway for Aboriginal Year 10 students wanting to learn a construction trade.
“The Diz Footprints program provides a unique opportunity for students to continue their high school education while gaining hands-on construction experience at one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Western Sydney,” Mrs Davies said.
“It’s an excellent headstart for students who are interested in a rewarding career in construction trades such as brick laying, carpentry, electrics and plumbing.”
Five students will pilot the program at the start of term four this year, with plans to extend the program to more local students when construction of the new hospital tower starts early next year.
Early planning for this second stage of the hospital’s redevelopment has commenced and construction is expected to start prior to the completion of Stage 1.
The car park is expected to be operational in mid-2019.
