Construction begins on new St. Paul's Hospital site

Construction has kicked off for the new St. Paul'sHospitalat the Jim Pattison Medical Centre, which the province says is the largesthospitalredevelopment project in British Columbia's history.

Health Minister Adrian Dix says it's a "great day,'' as the new site will be a full-service acute carehospitaland integrated health-care campus with a capacity for 548 beds.

Dix told a news conference Monday that thehospitalwill continue to be the home of leading provincial programs and referral centres, including heart and lung care, specialty services and transplants.

He saidthehospitalwill also offer HIV/AIDS care, chronic disease management, emergency and critical care, mental health and addictions programs, Indigenous health services, maternity services and community outreach programs.

Thehospitalwill continue to be a teaching site where University of British Columbia medical students and British Columbia Institute of Technology nursing students receive their training.

Dix says the new St. Paul'sHospitalon Station Street, in the city's False Creek Flats,is expected to be complete in 2027 and will replace the current site in downtown Vancouver.

The newhospitalis expected to cost $2.174 billion, of whichB.C.is contributing $1.327 billion. The St. Paul's Foundation plans to raise $125 million and Providence Health Care will fund the rest from the sale of the current St. Paul's property.

The province says PCL Construction will build the newhospitaland the project will create 8,523 direct jobs and 5,383 indirect jobs, such as construction, material manufacturing and food services.