Lendlease has been appointed as the managing contractor for the AU$1.95bn (£1bn) new Women’s & Children’s Hospital (nWCH) in Adelaide, South Australia.

Minister for health and wellbeing Stephen Wade said: “The nWCH will be significantly larger than the current hospital, with 59 more treatment spaces, allowing for approximately 3,400 more inpatient admissions and 18,000 additional emergency department attendances a year.

“The building contract involves a two-stage approach. Stage one will see us working with Lendlease to progress and finalise the design of the nWCH with clinicians, consumers and the community, and provide construction planning services and building advice,” Brendan Hewitt, nWCH project director, said.

“Stage two will include the commencement of early works on site involving bridge and road construction, and the construction of our new hospital, next to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.”

Main construction works on the nWCH site will begin later this year, following the completion of initial enabling works on the site.