You know how it usually goes

Published over 1 year ago • 1 min read

PPP = Prolonged, Painful, and Pointless.

But not this time.

Somehow, against all odds, cultures, and acronyms…

The New Royal Adelaide Hospital in South Australia didn’t just avoid disaster — it delivered.

Let me break it down for you:

Australia’s most expensive hospital project at the time.
$2.3 billion AUD.
A maze of private, public, and clinical stakeholders.
800 beds. 40 operating theatres. 100% public access.

The predictions?

“Too complex.”
“Healthcare PPPs always end in tears.”
“Get ready for claims, arbitration, and political carnage.”

But guess what?

They finished it.

And not just finished — they pulled off a clinical-grade, digitally-integrated, energy-efficient mega-hospital that actually works.

The secret sauce?

A private consortium (SA Health Partnership) that didn't play the blame game.
A government team that didn’t change the brief 64 times.
A dispute resolution process that got used before lawyers smelled blood.

Crazy, right?

How couldn’t I have thought about it?

A PPP that respected scope, handled conflict like grown-ups, and even came out functional on the other side.

How could it be possible…

Anyway.

Some still say it was luck.

I say it was proof that PPPs can work… if you don’t staff them with saboteurs.

Do you want some blood?

Take a look to the lessons below?

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The 15 Top Lessons of a PPP Project Nightmare

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The number 1 killer of Projects
Why this was not going to be just "another construction project, mate"... Read more

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