A £550MILLION contract to build Scotland's largest hospital has been awarded to the firm behind the new Wembley Stadium, health officials are set to announce.

Australian construction giant Brookfield beat two other bids to win the right to work on the South Glasgow Hospital, which will replace the city's Southern General within the next five years.

The official announcement will be made tomorrow morning, but the deal has already been agreed.

However, contrary to earlier reports it is understood the firm's tender was not the cheapest which had been submitted but is considered best value for the money.

Funded entirely from the public purse, the new hospital will be part of a massive "health village" with 1,100 beds, all in single-room accommodation, and 20 operating theatres.

The successful firm saw off competition from Balfour Beatty and Laing O'Rourke, both of which have recently worked on hospitals elsewhere in Scotland.

Brookfield is one of the world's largest asset management businesses with a global portfolio worth more than £43bn. Its operations span four continents, and it employs more than 2000 people.

The Sydney-based firm successfully completed the troubled Wembley Stadium contract when they took over from original contractor Multiplex.

The South Glasgow Hospital project will be financed through the public purse, with no private finance initiative involvement.

It will cater for up to 110,000 A&E patients every year, making it the biggest casualty centre in Scotland, and is forecast to cost about £842million in total.

The main building will be constructed on the site of the old Southern General, with a completion deadline of 2015, and a new children's hospital will be connected to it, replacing Yorkhilll.

The children's hospital is likely to be ready by 2014, and the existing maternity hospital at the Southern will also be upgraded.

A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said she could not discuss the contract in advance of the official announcement tomorrow.

No-one from Brookfield was available for comment last night.

5th November 2009

Reproduced with the permission of The Evening Times, Glasgow © 2009 Herald & Times Group