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Perth's new Women and Babies Hospital will open on time, but its $1.8 billion budget may blow out, the state government admits. Construction on the new maternity hospital in the Fiona Stanley precinct officially began today, under plans to replace the more than 100-year-old King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH) in Subiaco. Health Infrastructure Minister John Carey said the 12-storey, 274-bed hospital was on schedule. "We are on schedule, we are very clear that we are committed to delivering and opening this hospital in 2029 and anyone who doubts that can just look at the site right now," he said on Tuesday morning. "Earthworks are underway and ... piling works will begin in November." Mr Carey said while the $1.8 billion price tag for the new hospital was accurate, he could not rule out an increase as works continued. "I'll never rule it out," he said. "However, through our new OMID [Office of Major Infrastructure Delivery] having oversight of these kinds of projects, we're very focused obviously on costs, but also delivery of schedule. "We are taking a very accelerated approach to delivering our hospital infrastructure." The government had initially planned to move the hospital to the nearby QEII Medical Centre precinct, integrating it with Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Perth Children's Hospital. But in 2023, the government announced that plan was no longer feasible and the new hospital would be built in the Fiona Stanley precinct instead, about 20 kilometres away. That announcement caused significant pushback from within the health industry, as well as from the opposition, but all agreed a new maternity hospital was much-needed. In May, it was revealed one of the joint venture partners chosen to build the new hospital had entered voluntary administration, leaving European construction giant Webuild without a partner.
