Pre-qualified Building Teams to Submit Final Bids Today

TORONTO - Today is the last day for pre-qualified building teams to submit bids to build, finance and maintain the new Sault Area Hospital (SAH).  

The new Sault Area Hospital will replace the existing facilities at the Plummer Memorial Hospital and the Sault Ste. Marie General Hospital sites and consolidate services in a facility that is 20 per cent larger than the two hospitals combined. The new hospital will have the capacity for 289 beds, will house an emergency department twice its current size and for the first time will offer radiation therapy in the community. The introduction of this service will ensure that more than 100,000 residents of Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma Region have access to this life-saving cancer care closer to home.

Once construction is completed, approximately 50 per cent of the medical/surgical beds will be in private rooms. Private rooms reduce infection rates and allow for more privacy between patients and their doctors.

“Through ReNew Ontario, the government's $30-billion plus infrastructure investment plan, we are renewing and modernizing infrastructure,” said Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal David Caplan. “This plan ensures value for taxpayer dollars as we build strong, prosperous communities.”

“Ontario's hospitals are an integral part of our health care system,” said Minister of Health and Long-Term Care George Smitherman. “Our investment in hospitals will provide even better care in facilities that are modern, well-maintained, safe and comfortable for patients.”

The request for proposals (RFP) to build, finance and maintain the Sault Area Hospital was issued on November 9, 2006. The bid submissions will be evaluated over the next few months and a successful bidder is expected to be named in late summer 2007.  Construction is scheduled to begin shortly thereafter.

“Our government is delivering on the largest public infrastructure project for the Sault and area in generations,” said Sault Ste. Marie MPP David Orazietti. “Today's announcement moves the community one step closer to having a state-of-the-art health care facility that will provide a significant boost to the local economy while improving our ability to attract and retain medical professionals.”

“We look forward to our continued partnership with the province to enhance health care services in our region,” said SAH President and CEO Ron Gagnon.

Infrastructure Ontario will work with the Sault Area Hospital to build the new facility, which will remain publicly owned, publicly controlled and publicly accountable.  Infrastructure Ontario is a Crown corporation dedicated to managing some of the province's larger and more complex infrastructure renewal projects - ensuring they are built on time and on budget. 

This project is guided by principles outlined in the Province's Building a Better Tomorrow framework, which ensures public ownership of core assets such as hospitals, schools, and water and wastewater facilities.  The Sault Area Hospital project is one of many infrastructure projects being upgraded and modernized under ReNew Ontario, the government's five-year, $30-billion plus public infrastructure investment plan.   

Visit www.infrastructureontario.ca for more information.

Contacts:

Amy Tang   
Minister's Office  
Public Infrastructure Renewal
416-325-4048

Mandy Downes
Infrastructure Ontario
416-327-5325

Brady Irwin
Sault Area Hospital
705 -759-3837

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