The ACT government will need to borrow money to build a $1.5 billion northside hospital because the "investment needs to be made now," the treasurer says.
Chris Steel said replacing the ageing North Canberra Hospital was a priority for the government despite recording level record debts in 2025-26.
The ACT government have said they will allocate a further $1.34 billion towards the northside hospital project over seven years from the 2026-27 budget.
"We've been very clear that we will borrow to meet the generational infrastructure needs of our community," Mr Steel said on Tuesday, June 2.
"This is an infrastructure project that can't wait until we can fund it through cash surpluses.
"We need to invest now in this critical health infrastructure to support acute services on the northside [and] help take pressure off the hospital on the southside."
Mr Steel said the investment would not threaten to blow out the upcoming 2026-27 budget.
"We have, and you'll see this through the 26-27 budget, looked very closely at the infrastructure pipeline and fitted in this critical health infrastructure project in that pipeline in a way that makes it sustainable over the long term," he said.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr would not say whether other previously announced infrastructure projects, like light rail stage 2B, would be delayed to pay for the northside project and move towards a budget surplus.
"We need to structure our infrastructure program in a way that is affordable," Mr Barr said.
"We're not making an announcement today about that project [light rail stage 2B] ... and I think we should read quite a lot into the statement I made at the very beginning of the press conference that this is the major infrastructure project for the territory for the rest of the decade."
While it has not confirmed an expected open date, funding has been allocated for 2026-27 to 2033-34.
The government has already spent about $160 million on the project, with early works already started at the main Bruce site.
A development application was lodged on March 25, 2026, and public comments closed on April 24.
The new hospital will replace the ageing North Canberra Hospital, formerly Calvary Hospital, which opened in 1979. North Canberra Hospital will remain open during construction.
The first building to be constructed is a seven-storey clinical services building which is expected to have more than 300 treatment spaces and provide easy access to the new emergency department for patients and ambulances.
The new hospital is expected to have additional features compared to the existing one, such as a birth centre and a paediatric short-stay unit in the emergency department.
The Haydon Drive intersections to access North Canberra Hospital will be upgraded, and there will be more parking and a new, larger childcare centre to replace the existing facility.
Treasurer Chris Steel said the new hospital was needed to met expected growing demand as population grows and patient healthcare becomes more complicated.
"The new Northside Hospital is critical to provide additional capacity across our hospital network to meet the growing demands that we will see on acute services over next decade and beyond," Mr Steel said.
Minister for Health Rachel Stephen-Smith said stakeholders had been engaged in the design process.
"We have listened and engaged with stakeholders to design a hospital that supports the community's needs, and we will continue that engagement throughout the detailed design and construction stages," Ms Stephen-Smith said.
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