§ Mr. Kilfedderasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the tower block in the City hospital, Belfast, will be completed and in use; what is the date when the work started and what was the original opening date; what will be the total cost of construction and full equipment when the work is completed; and how this compares with the original estimate.
§ Mr. John PattenConstruction of this tower block started in June 1971 for completion in July 1976. Because of the addition of undergraduate teaching accommodation, essential design changes, stoppages of work and other factors, completion is not now expected until the latter part of 1983. To allow time for commissioning, the building should be available for use in the period 1984–85.
The original contract cost was £6.97 million at 1970 prices. The latest estimate of total construction cost is £41 million at 1980 prices. Equipment costs were originally estimated as £1 million but it is expected that these costs 222W will now exceed £5 million. Essential additions and alterations in design together with disruption of work arising from civil disturbances and other causes and the high rate of inflation during the currency of the contract are the main reasons for the cost increase.