New Royal Adelaide Hospital: All you need to know about the delayed high-tech project
Updated
The yet-to-be-opened new Royal Adelaide Hospital (NRAH) will be Australia's most expensive building and reportedly the third most expensive in the world.
It was scheduled to open early last year but work is still ongoing on the much-awaited hospital, which sits at the western end of the city.
It has been designed to be futuristic, using robots to deliver food and equipment, and will replace an ageing facility at the eastern end of North Terrace.
The ABC takes a look at the big questions surrounding the project:
How big is it?
The new hospital will have 800 beds compared to 680 at the current RAH.
The 800 beds are broken down into 700 for overnight stays and 100 for day use. Staff numbers are likely to be about 6,000.
The entire building is the size of two football fields (10 hectares).
It is 11 storeys high with 2,300 carparks.
At the height of construction there were 2,000 workers on site.
How much is it costing?
The original cost of the hospital was $2 billion plus another $245 million for medical equipment.
According to architectural data company Emporis, that makes the NRAH Australia's most expensive building and the third most expensive building in the world.
In September 2015 the Government agreed to pay an extra $34.3 million to settle a dispute with the builders over the cost of remediating the site.
A dispute between the builders and the SA Government is ongoing and a final cost of the building has not yet been calculated.
Why so expensive?
Aside from its scale, the hospital aims to be technologically advanced, including using robots for delivering supplies, equipment and food.
It has set a target of 50 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to other hospitals.
A commercial precinct is being built linking the hospital to neighbouring research and university centres.
Who is building the new Royal Adelaide Hospital?
The NRAH is a public-private partnership.
A private consortium is constructing the building which will be owned by the South Australian Government.
Once completed, the consortium will maintain the hospital while SA Health provides clinical services, staff, training and research.
When will it be paid for?
When the hospital is ready the SA Government will begin repayments and will own the building outright in 2046.
How far behind schedule is it?
The NRAH was scheduled to open April 2016 but has been delayed several times.
The current date for opening is forecast to be June 2017.
What is happening to the old Royal Adelaide Hospital?
The SA Government plans to redevelop the site including building more than 1,000 apartments and a five-star hotel.
Five heritage buildings will be retained with one third of the site becoming part of the neighbouring botanic gardens.
Topics: healthcare-facilities, states-and-territories, government-and-politics, health, health-policy, adelaide-5000, sa
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