The New South Wales government (Australia), through the NSW Health Department, has selected Healthscope to develop the Northern Beaches hospital PPP project in Sydney.

The team beat out competition from rival Ramsay Health Care. Adventist Healthcare was also shortlisted in December 2013, but it pulled out of the race. A fourth group, Macquarie University Hospital Operations, expressed its interest in the project but was not qualified.

The new 423-bed hospital will be developed on a 6.5 hectare site bounded by Frenchs Forest Road West. Under the design unveiled yesterday, the Northern Beaches hospital will include:

• a 50-space emergency department - an increase on the total 30 spaces that currently exist in Manly Hospital and Mona Vale Hospital;
• 14 operating theatres and six surgical suites;
• state-of-the-art intensive care and critical care units;
• a modern inpatient mental health facility.

The successful operator would deliver services to public ­patients for 20 years but would be responsible for private patients for 40 years. The hospital would revert to public ownership in 20 years.

The contract to build and manage the new hospital is expected to be signed before the end of the year. Construction works are expected to begin next year and the new facilities are set to be operational by 2018.

The total project investment is estimated at A$1 billion, A$600 million to develop the new hospital and the remaining A$400 million will be dedicated to road upgrades in the area.

Premier and Member for Manly Mike Baird stated:

The people of the Northern Beaches have been waiting decades for this hospital to get off the ground and today the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government is delivering.

Paxon Group has advised the New South Wales Health Department for the hospital project.

The Northern Beaches Hospital will work closely with Mona Vale Hospital, which will provide sub-acute hospital services including palliative care, rehabilitation and aged care, community health and hydrotherapy, a 24/7 urgent care centre and helipad.

During this year a total of eight projects have been awarded in Australia. These projects are the following:

• Sydney light rail PPP project,
• East West Link PPP project,
• North West Rail Link in New South Wales,
• Perth stadium PPP project,
• Carlton new student facility PPP project - University of Melbourne,
• Design, build and operate an intermodal terminal at Moorebank in Sydney,
• Esperance port iron ore facility DFBO,
• Northern Territory Secure Facilities (Correctional Facility).