Qld completes first hospital PPP
Freehills has acted on Queensland’s first hospital to be delivered under the Public Private Partnership model – the Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
Firms: Freehills (Queensland Government)
Area: PPP
Value: Undisclosed
Key players: Partner Peter Butler (pictured) led the Freehills’ team, which included partners Erin Wakelin, Phil McMahon, Kirsty Faichen and Steve Smith; special counsel’s Margaret Mertens and Kylie Rohl; executive counsel Sharon Travers, and senior associate’s Fergus Smith and Tim Johnson.
Deal significance: SCUH will be designed, built, partially financed and maintained by the Exemplar Health consortium comprising Lend Lease, Spotless Group, Capella Capital and Siemens.SCUH will be the centrepiece of an integrated health campus comprising, initially, a co-located private hospital, carpark and a skills, academic and research centre. SCUH will open in 2016 with 450 beds, expanding to 738 beds by 2021.“The SCUH project was particularly complex due to the physically-integrated nature of the site, the adjoining private hospital currently under construction, and the financing model which involved a funding contribution from the State Government,” said Butler.“The deal represents significant value for money for the state and delivers substantial savings for Queensland taxpayers. The short timeframe from receipt of bids to contract is close to a record in the Australian market for a PPP project of this size and complexity.”