Plenary has achieved financial close on the Victorian Government’s expansion of Casey Hospital in Melbourne’s southeast.

The expansion project will significantly increase the hospital’s capacity, allowing it to cater for more patients, more surgeries and more births in one of Australia’s fastest-growing areas.

The Plenary Health consortium – also comprising Watpac and Brookfield Global Integrated Solutions (BGIS) – is contracted to design, build and maintain the expanded facility for 10 years, aligning with the remainder of the original 25-year contract.

Contractor Watpac was chosen following a competitive shortlisting process that ensured the State was provided value for money, and BGIS will continue to maintain the hospital, allowing efficiencies to be achieved across the combined site.

The 13,000-square-metre expansion includes 160 new beds, the hospital’s first intensive care unit, six new operating theatres, additional recovery capacity, a new day surgery unit, upgraded pharmacy, pathology and back-of-house areas, more than 300 new staff and public car parks, and a new front entry building that includes education and training spaces for Monash University.

The expansion value amounts to AUD130 million (US$104 million).

Plenary Head of Origination Paul Crowe said procuring this expansion through the existing legal framework was a great outcome. He stated:

“Including the expansion of the hospital in the original master plan means we are now able to deliver an important piece of health infrastructure for the broader Casey and Cardinia communities.”

Mr Crowe said existing project investors Plenary, Palisade Investment Partners and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec would remain equity investors in the expansion.

The original 22,000-square-metre Casey Hospital was Plenary’s first equity investment, made soon after its establishment in 2004, and Plenary is the financial adviser, project delivery manager, SPV manger and investor for the expansion project.

Construction is expected to begin shortly, and the expansion is expected to be completed by late-2019.