MUFC manager leads topping out ceremony

23 April 2010 14:18 Michael Hunt Comments (0)

Manchester United FC manager Sir Alex Ferguson has led a topping out ceremony at a building which is part of a £200m healthcare project in Salford.

Leeds-based WYG Group is providing civil and structural design, traffic and transportation and environmental consultancy services on behalf of Balfour Beatty at the £200m project to redevelop Salford Royal Hospital. The topping out ceremony marks the completion of the new Hope Building superstructure.

Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and the new Hope Building will provide advanced medical facilities. Ferguson was invited to place a tile on the external façade of the Hope Building which has been inscribed to mark the event.

Ferguson said: "I'm delighted to take part in today's celebrations, the new hospital development will no doubt enhance the great work that the team at Salford Royal already deliver to patients in Greater Manchester.

"The much improved facilities will be of great benefit to the region and my congratulations go to everyone involved in getting to this stage of the development."

The project is expected to be fully completed in 2012 and provide a new accident and emergency department with a 55 bedroom assessment unit, a 32 bedroom critical care unit, and new facilities for renal, intestinal and urology services. When complete, there will be 242 beds and 50% of the rooms in ward areas will be single occupancy.

Andy Garland, from WYG Engineering, added: "We are focused on providing high quality, high value services and this huge project is a great example of where we can optimise our skills across WYG to create the right solutions for our clients.

"Having such an iconic figure like Sir Alex to mark this significant milestone in the construction of the Hope Building is fantastic for everyone involved in the project."

WYG has been involved in the project since 2003 and the multi-story car park, the education and mortuary building and some of the infrastructure was completed and handed over to the Trust in March last year.