Construction of the state-of-the-art Midland Metropolitan Hospital is to resume at last, after the Government agreed to bail out the project at an estimated cost of £315 million.

The hospital is two-thirds completed but work stopped in January, leaving a deserted building site.

But the 669-bed hospital is now expected to open in 2022, serving patients in the Black Country and Birmingham, after the Government agreed to fund the remainder of the project.

The long delay had been caused by the collapse of developers Carillion. It meant work at the site in Smethwick was abandoned, leaving the unfinished hospital exposed to the elements.

Health Minister Steve Barclay said: "Our long-term plan for the NHS will see it receive £20.5 billion a year more than it currently does by 2023, but our commitment does not stop there, as this important partnership shows.

"We are not only giving patients in Sandwell and West Birmingham world-class NHS facilities on their doorstep, but also showing our determination to build an NHS fit for the future – all whilst making sure taxpayers’ money is spent in the best possible way."

When completed, the Midland Metropolitan will the first new hospital in the West Midlands conurbation since 2010, equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and 15 operating theatres.

The unfinished Midland Metropolitan Hospital.

The new hospital will replace some services currently offered at City Hospital in Birmingham and Sandwell Hospital.

It will be an acute centre for the care of adults and children, as well as offering maternity care and specialised surgery to approximately three quarters of a million residents.

Construction work on the hospital, part of Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, was originally carried out under the private finance initiative (PFI) programme, in which private investors are supposed to accept a share of the risk of a major project failing.

It was halted when the firm carrying out the work, Carillion, went into liquidation.

Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons on April 18 that she’d asked David Liddington, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, to get things moving.

After examining all available options, including a replacement PFI scheme, the Trust asked the Government to provide public finance for the project.

An artist's impression of the Midland Metropolitan Hospital
An artist's impression of the Midland Metropolitan Hospital

The Government has now agreed that a one-off funding agreement would be in the best interest of patients and taxpayers alike.

Questions will be raised about the cost of getting the project started again. The hospital was previously expected to cost £350 million, which means the estimated £315 million bail-out has almost doubled the price of getting it built.

However, even before Carillion collapsed, it appeared that more money would be needed. A report by the National Audit Office revealed that Carillion last year begged the Government for £125 million to subsidise construction.

Toby Lewis, Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust's Chief Executive, said: "This is absolutely fantastic news. After a huge amount of work by teams across Whitehall and the Trust, and with the voices of local residents, clinicians, and stakeholders having been being clearly heard, we are delighted that we now have a definitive publicly financed plan.

"We will continue to engage with the construction market over coming weeks and build towards a formal procurement by November this year.

"We always said Midland Met would be delivered and the doubters were wrong. The Prime Minister’s promise is being honoured."

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street in Birmingham city centre.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street helped negotiate a deal between the Government and the Trust to get construction moving again.

He said: "The collapse of Carillion left everybody involved in this vital project in a hugely challenging situation with no easy solutions.

"That we have successfully found a way forward is testament to the work of the Trust, Government and local partners.

"While it has been a challenge getting to where we are, Government have promised all the way through that we would find a solution that balances the needs of the tax payer with the needs of the people of Sandwell and western Birmingham."