PCL awarded $898M contract to build acute care tower at P.A. Victoria Hospital

The $898-million contract to design and build a new acute care tower at Prince Albert’s Victoria Hospital is going to PCL Construction Management Ltd.

The agreement includes design and construction of the new tower, which will be connected to the existing hospital facility. The tower will feature a heliport on its roof, along with an expanded emergency department and larger operating rooms.

The acute care tower will also include facilities for pediatric and maternity care, an NICU, new medical imaging facilities, and a cultural space for First Nations and Métis patients and visitors.

The addition will boost the hospital’s total capacity from 173 beds up to 242.

Site preparation has already begun, and construction of the new tower is slated to begin this spring, with the addition expected to be complete in 2028.

Everett Hindley, Saskatchewan’s health minister, said the addition will make a big impact in both the Prince Albert area and the northern parts of the province.

Rendering of the Prince Albert Victoria Hospital expansion project (Government of Saskatchewan)

“The Victoria Hospital project is a significant investment in Prince Albert and surrounding area and will go a long way to accommodate the growing needs of the northern communities it serves,” Hindley said in a statement.

Joe Hargrave, MLA for Prince Albert Carlton, called the project “the largest single investment, private or government, in the history of Prince Albert.”

The government has partnered with the Prince Albert Grand Council to help design the new addition’s cultural space at its main entrance, and the health ministry said PCL will work with Indigenous vendors during construction.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority will work with PCL during construction to help ensure any disruption to the hospital is minimal, and patient services aren’t expected to change during the construction phase.

“Residents in Prince Albert and throughout the north will benefit from enhanced care that is available closer to home, made possible by the expansion of the Prince Albert Victoria Hospital,” Andrew Will, the health authority’s CEO, said in a statement.

“This important project provides the opportunity for the SHA to deliver expanded services for northern residents in key areas, including intensive care, medical imaging, adult mental health treatment, and children’s and maternal services.”