THE BENDIGO Business Council says the size of the New Bendigo Hospital Project development will transform Bendigo’s economic landscape and open up enormous growth prospects for the city.
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Local businesses have endorsed winning bidder Exemplar and said they’re confident the group would work closely with local contractors, when building plans get underway.
Bendigo Business Council executive officer Patrick Falconer said the scale of the project was something Bendigo had never seen before.
He said the economic activity generated from the new hospital would dwarf the financial impact of the Bendigo Bank building, Bendigo’s previous biggest building project.
“Imagine a project that’s at least six or seven times the size of the Bendigo Bank building,” he said.
“It’s hard to gauge just how big this will be but it will certainly have an enormous impact.
“It opens up new jobs and an increase in population, that’s just for a start.”
Mr Falconer said a second hospital would boost Bendigo’s reputation in a range of areas and attract business investment in the region.
“It’s going to have an unbelievable impact,” he said.
“It will be wonderful icon and will elevate Bendigo to the status it should hold as Victoria’s pre-eminent regional city.”
Mr Falconer said there were already negotiations between local businesses and Exemplar.
A committee had also been formed to focus on the job opportunities for local industry, he said.
Mr Falconer said there would also be significant flow-on effects to benefit the economy as a whole, likening the project to the successful Grace Kelly exhibition.
“When we had Grace Kelly here for three months it generated about $17m into the local economy,” he said.
“This will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
“It’s fantastic news for Bendigo.”
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