The inpatient building was originally tabled as necessary in a business case to the government in June 2017, but since then there have been rising costs and changes in ministers and project bosses.
Now, a "letter of intent" has been agreed between Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) and CPB, meaning the firm should be awarded the contract to deliver the building on the former Cadbury site.
A letter of intent can also mean a firm can work on a project prior to the contract being signed.
There are already diggers back on site — working on the building’s foundations — and billboards proclaiming CPB’s involvement went up around the perimeter yesterday.
The action on-site means that at least one ministerial promise has come true.
In January, after the latest round of delays and a public march by thousands last year, health minister Simeon Brown promised work would resume mid-year.
Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich said the build should have happened in 2018, but described the activity on-site as "very exciting after such a long delay ... hopefully, it means a rapid resumption of work — the sooner the better."
CPB had expected to sign a contract at the start of 2023, after it had already spent 18 months delivering an Early Contractor Engagement contract (ECE) for the project.
The ECE, signed in August 2021, had required it to plan the build and pull together a team of subcontractors.
For the past two years, the firms have been waiting for a minister to approve the project and CPB has been involved in government discussions about contract details.
CPB has a history of delivering government projects that have resulted in challenges down the track, including rising costs, delays and legal wrangles.
Projects have included the North Island’s Transmission Gully motorway, the Christchurch Hospital acute services building and the Christchurch Parakiore sports centre, which CPB had claimed was costing more than three times as much to build as originally contracted.
In April last year, the ODT unearthed a government briefing about the new Dunedin hospital, from treasury officials to finance minister Nicola Willis, saying HNZ was "reconsidering whether to continue" with CPB on the inpatient build, despite being the preferred contractor.
Since the Treasury note, there have been further delays, including redesigns aimed at achieving savings and even a review of whether the build should go ahead.
The work on site is led by construction firm Ceres, which holds the contract for some of the building’s substructure.
It is highly likely that Ceres will finish its part of the contract then hand over to CPB for completion of the main build.
Although there was a recent tender for a part of the substructure, sources say they do not anticipate a third main contractor will lead any part of the substructure’s build.
However, Mr Brown said the contract for the substructure works had not yet been awarded.
