Banned builder Lend Lease wins Bendigo Hospital bid

THE building giant banned from projects by the State Government is set to win part of the $630 million Bendigo Hospital contract.

THE building giant banned from taxpayer-funded projects by the State Government is set to win part of the $630 million Bendigo Hospital contract.

Patients should see shovels hit the ground months after the State Government finally nominated a preferred bidder to build the hospital.

Lend Lease, which is unable to bid for new public projects, was part of the winning team.

The Lend Lease ban is the result of a government exclusion order, made because of the building giant's agreement with the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU).

The Government says the agreement breaks new Building Code guidelines, brought in to clean up the construction industry and speed up major projects.

But because the Lend Lease consortium was short-listed for the Bendigo Hospital tender before the guidelines kicked in, the exclusion order was only a small factor in play.

The State Opposition says the process has been a "shambles", causing pointless delays that have hurt the local community.

Premier Denis Napthine said the end result would be "terrific" for patients.

He promised the hospital would be ready by 2016, as originally promised.

"This project will generate more than 770 jobs and deliver enormous flow-on benefits," he said.

The hospital includes space for 372 new beds and 10 new operating theatres, a new cancer centre, and a mental health unit.

The State Government is standing by its ban on Lend Lease for future contracts, unless the company changes its deal with the CFMEU.

But the hospital decision may affect a Federal Court case the CFMEU has brought against the Government, relating to the Lend Lease exclusion order and the Bendigo contract.