Plenary Health achieves financial close on New Footscray Hospital project

11 March 2021

The Plenary Health consortium has achieved financial close on the single largest health infrastructure investment in the State of Victoria, the $1.5 billion new Footscray Hospital.

The new Footscray Hospital will be built on the corner of Geelong and Ballarat Roads, opposite Victoria University. It replaces the current hospital on Gordon Street, which opened in 1953.

The hospital will have at least 504 beds and will deliver more outpatient, palliative care and mental health services. Construction will begin immediately upon contract award and the hospital is expected to be completed in 2025.

The hospital is being delivered as a public-private partnership, with Western Health as the public operator of all clinical services and Plenary Health contracted by the Victorian Government to finance, design, construct, and maintain the hospital for 25 years following construction completion.

The Plenary Health consortium comprises

• Plenary Group as sponsor, investor and asset manager
• Multiplex as builder
• Honeywell and Compass Group as facility services providers; and
• Sojitz Corporation as investor

An integrated design team is led by Cox Architecture and Billard Leece Partnership.

Plenary is a leading independent long-term investor, developer and manager of public infrastructure with 19 assets under management in Australia worth more than A$23 billion – part of a global portfolio worth more than A$44 billion across Australia, Canada and the US. Plenary adopts a holistic approach to delivering projects that embraces finance, design and construction, commercial development, asset management and operation.

Plenary Chief Investment Officer Paul Crowe said all consortium partners were honoured to be part of such an historic project.

ā€œIt is a rare privilege to deliver such a significant project, one that will ultimately transform access to health services in Melbourne’s west,ā€ Mr Crowe said.

ā€œIn bringing this project to life, the community has always been our focus and we look forward to delivering this hospital for patients and families, for staff, and the people of the western suburbs.

ā€œWe look forward to working closely with the Victorian Government and Western Health to deliver this much-needed and critical piece of health infrastructure.ā€

Equity financing is provided by Plenary (70%) and Sojitz (30%).

Debt is being provided by leading domestic and international banks NAB, Westpac, Mizuho, Norinchukin, CrƩdit Industriel et Commercial and Nippon Life.

Construction is expected to get underway shortly, and the new hospital is set to be completed in 2025.