A new acute care tower for Richmond Hospital is on its way, announced Premier John Horgan Thursday morning.

Horgan, alongside Health Minister Adrian Dix in the hospital's Milan Ilich Pavilion, said his provincial government has approved the hospital tower’s concept plan and will now proceed to a business plan, which can take 12 to 18 months to finalize.

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Calling the existing tower “out of date,” Horgan underlined the importance of adding new, additional beds to serve a growing and ageing population.

“The new acute care tower will modernize Richmond Hospital for the coming decades and bring quality public health care to people who live and work here,” said Horgan.

The business plan will determine the scope of the project and its budget, although preliminary estimates from Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) in 2016 pegged a new tower at about $283 million.

“We expect this new tower will not only increase service for in-patient care but will also support, new robust models of care that reflect the diverse needs of the community,” said VCH CEO Mary Ackenhusen.

One of those models is expected to be a traditional Chinese medicine department. A key aspect of the tower will be private patient rooms and improved design for patient flow.

The Richmond Hospital Foundation has noted it is willing to contribute $40-50 million of the projected costs. According to the Ministry, VCH and the Foundation will confirm final funding contributions after a more detailed cost estimate is completed. Exact funding will be confirmed by the business plan.

Following business plan approval the government will go to procurement of a contractor and then construction, which could then take three years, according to VCH.

Preliminary designs show the new, eight-storey tower located on the south side of the property with green space replacing the old “north tower.”

A new hospital tower in Richmond should overlook Minoru Park, according to a preliminary rendering.

A construction start date of 2020 was considered important as the foundation had previously announced half of the $27 million donations made toward the tower to date were contingent on it.

Foundation CEO Natalie Meixner said $23 million must still be raised and it “will take new champions to bring this legacy to fruition.”

Time was also of the essence due to the condition of the existing tower.

Opened in 1966, the tower condition has been a widespread concern. According to a 2005 seismic report of the hospital, the tower would likely collapse, or partially collapse with “moderate shaking.” This fact was reiterated to VCH in a 2011 report. In a moderate earthquake of 5.0 to 5.9 on the Richter scale, all eight operating rooms and over half the beds would be at severe risk.

A delay by the BC Liberal government to take action on the tower resulted in the hospital becoming a political football in the May 2017 provincial election.

In June 2016 Richmond Centre’s BC Liberal MLA Teresa Wat announced the concept plan. In April 2017 the concept plan was finished by VCH but it was never approved until Thursday.

Dix said the Ministry had to review an updated concept plan earlier this year.

In an interview with the Richmond News last week, Dix said the Ministry was also dealing with a backlog of hospital concept plans. He said Thursday that with an approved business plan, the Richmond project can be included in the capital budget.

Dix said public concerns, including those raised by Wat, that the NDP would ignore the city of Richmond because it is a BC Liberal-stronghold should be put to rest.

He noted the two overdue hospital concept plan approvals announced recently, before Richmond, came in the BC Liberal ridings of Terrace and Williams Lake.

“The evidence is, we’re acting in the public’s interest. Thinking otherwise, it creates cynicism in politics,” said Dix.

Despite the political back and forth, Dix and Wat shook hands Thursday and Wat took to Twitter to applaud Richmond residents for speaking up.

Wat told the News she will be watching to ensure the project remains on schedule, as past hospital projects have stalled between business plan approval and construction.

Horgan personally thanked Coun. Chak Au for raising the issue with him prior to the election. Au, a past BC Liberal supporter, was a local BC NDP candidate last year, who lost to MLA Linda Reid.

Horgan said the hospital tower was raised numerous times during his interactions in Richmond.

The issue may have raised the party’s profile in Richmond. In 2013, the NDP took 26.6 per cent of the Richmond vote while in 2017 it took 38.2 per cent. No other municipality saw greater gains by the NDP.

Horgan thanked foundation donors, such as the Yurkovich family, which made a record donation last year.

“In my experience, I’ve never seen the depth of enthusiasm right across the community, at every political level, every political stripe focused on making life better for the people of Richmond,” said Horgan.