Announcing the Exemplar consortium as the preferred bidder yesterday, Dr Napthine said construction of the hospital was likely to start within the next few months.

“I’m confident that this project is great for Bendigo, great for the region, and will deliver state-of-the-art hospital facilities here, a significant added value for Bendigo and region,” he said.

“And I’m confident the consortium will deliver on time, on budget and the people of Bendigo will be absolutely thrilled with the outcome.

“We expect the project to commence in a very short period of time and we expect it will be completed by the end of 2016 as per schedule.

“That’s the commitment we have from the consortium and that’s what will be delivered.”

The preferred bidder announcement came on the same day as the Bendigo Advertiser published a front page report about a leaked cabinet-in-confidence letter from Minister for Health David Davis to the then premier Ted Baillieu.

In the letter Mr Davis provided a new timeline for the hospital project and raised concerns over delays.

But Dr Napthine was adamant during a doorstop interview yesterday that the project would be delivered on time.

Bendigo Health chief executive John Mulder  said the project team had always been optimistic about the 2016 completion date.

“I think we can now turn the attention over the coming months to the actual detail of the building and people will start to get particularly excited when they see what’s coming,” he said.