Empty new Royal Adelaide Hospital costing $180,000 a day

A TRANSITION team set up to deliver a delayed move from the current Royal Adelaide Hospital to the new one is costing taxpayers $180,000 per day — but much more is being saved.

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February 7, 2017 - 7:16PM

Timelapse shows 12 months of work on new RAH

A TRANSITION team set up to deliver a long-delayed move from the current Royal Adelaide Hospital to the new is costing taxpayers $180,000 per day, the State Government has confirmed.

The 330-person team has a range of expertise in areas including health, logistics and IT.

Dubbed the “new RAH project”, it will oversee the eventual move.

The Government on Tuesday night said the cost of maintaining the team, with no new RAH opening date confirmed, was more than offset by a $1 million per day saving from not having to pay for the hospital.

Under the contract, payments to the consortium do not start until handover.

Health Minister Jack Snelling said the costs had been included in the State Budget.

“The $1 million taxpayers are saving each day far exceeds the cost of running the new RAH project,” he said. “The taxpayer has already saved $126 million after offsets.

“They are protected by a very strong contract.”

The hospital was first slated to open in April last year. There is now speculation of a move in the middle of this year, despite concerns about the danger of a shift in the middle of flu season.

The Government and building consortium are locked in negotiations over a peace deal aimed at avoiding threatened court action, which would be lengthy and costly for both sides.

The Government said disbanding the new RAH project until an official move date was locked in would make it very difficult to recruit the high-skilled workers needed when it was reformed.