It is understood that former programme director Tony Lloyd was let go from the role last November but is back working on the long-delayed inpatient building again.
He first joined the build in June 2022.
Both men have hospital construction experience, including in Christchurch. However, some sources in the construction industry expressed concern about the two men’s comeback in Dunedin, due to the project’s overall slow progress.
One said: "This smells of positions for mates and corporate interests while the project and people suffer. What confidence can the government give to the South that the build is being managed competently?"
Other sources blamed turgid and complex command lines at Te Whatu Ora Health NZ (HNZ) for the project’s slow-go, rather than Mr Davies and Mr Lloyd’s leadership. There had been "paper pushing and pontificating" up the chain.
Minutes from the project’s board when it was headed by Mr Davies complain about the problem.
During the duo’s previous reign, they worked with construction giant CPB which has been planning the build under an Early Contractor Engagement (ECE) agreement that began in August 2021. It was meant to progress to a building contract by early 2023, but it did not happen.
Mr Davies, who originally joined the build in December 2020, jumped ship in June 2023 claiming a demanding day job at Todd.
In response to a question about the return of Mr Lloyd, Mr Brown said Mr Davies had "full authority" for the inpatient build now, including "making personnel decisions necessary to get the job done".
In a separate comment about Mr Davies’ reappointment, Mr Brown said the Crown manager role would be easier than Mr Davies’ previous hospital role because it was "substantially more limited".
The new role was focused on getting the inpatient building constructed.
In March last year, prior to Mr Lloyd’s departure, an Infrastructure Commission general manager Blake Lepper shifted to be HNZ’s head of infrastructure delivery and was consequently named senior responsible officer for the Dunedin hospital project.
In March last year, prior to Mr Lloyd’s departure, an Infrastructure Commission general manager Blake Lepper shifted to be HNZ’s head of infrastructure delivery and was consequently named senior responsible officer for the Dunedin hospital project.
When asked last November to comment on Mr Lloyd’s exit from the role of programme director, Mr Lepper said HNZ had "looked closely" at the hospital build’s management and thought "a different approach is needed".
HNZ had signed a letter of intent with Crown Infrastructure Delivery (CID), a company mandated to help agencies struggling to deliver infrastructure, he said.
Mr Lepper is understood to have then led the reconsideration of a fixed-price approach to the contract and a ward block refit rather than a new build. The former is thought by some other construction experts to be inadvisable, and the latter is definitely off the table and had been previously.
An HNZ spokesperson failed to answer questions about the appointment of Mr Lloyd and whether Mr Lepper or CID were still working on the build.
The HNZ spokesperson said the agency was "confident we have the team in place to deliver this modern healthcare facility for the people of the South".
