Tender awarded for $250m Cairns Hospital Expansion project

The Queensland Government is staying committed to improving health care services in the State with a tender awarded for the delivery of the Cairns Hospital Expansion project. 

Hansen Yuncken has been awarded the tender for the project’s detailed design under the managing contractor model. This model will ensure that the company will deliver value for money guaranteed construction price prior to commencing main construction works. 

“I am proud to announce Hansen Yuncken – who has been operating in the Cairns and Far North Queensland region since 2008 – has been awarded the tender for the $250 million Cairns Hospital Expansion. 

“Hansen Yuncken will partner across Queensland’s health system to bring together an innovative and modern design based on the principles of people (including our First Nations communities), place, value and technology,” Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Yvette D’Ath said. 

The $250 million project will deliver an additional 96 beds for the regions of Cairns and Hinterland, including 64 beds at Cairns Hospital and 32 additional beds in the new state-of-the-art surgical centre. 

The new surgical centre is going to be built adjacent to James Cook University’s Cairns Tropical Enterprise Centre (CTEC), on the corner of Charles and Digger streets in Cairns North. It will sit close to the Cairns Hospital campus and will form part of the Far North Queensland Health Innovation Precinct, which will provide stronger linkages for teaching, learning and research. 

“These projects will bring state-of-the-art health services to Cairns, and significantly bolster capacity in the region. 

“Our Government is committed to delivering more beds, more services and more frontline health workers for Far North Queensland,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said. 

In addition to the new surgical centre, several works are already underway at Cairns Hospital including a new 70 million mental health unit that features a total of 53 beds, including a 10-bed mental health intensive care unit. 

The $26.5 million expansion of the Cairns Hospital Emergency Department is also being carried out to deliver additional capacity as well as a dedicated x-ray suite, refurbished resuscitation areas and more procedure rooms. 

“I’ve always fought hard for even better health services in Cairns. We’re talking about almost 100 extra beds at Cairns Hospital to improve services to our community,” Member for Cairns Michael Healy said. 

Stage 1 of the Emergency Department expansion is due to open in June this year and the entire project will be completed by early 2024. 

The overall Cairns Hospital Expansion project, which is anticipated to be completed in early 2024, is estimated to create more than 610 jobs during its construction phase. 

Source: Queensland Government – Media Statements; Advance Cairns