(above) – Laing O’Rourke Project Manager Gerry Vallianatos

A new video shines a spotlight on the preparatory groundworks at the site of the new University Hospital Monklands.

Colleagues from Laing O’Rourke, the Monklands Replacement Project’s construction partner, tell the story of some of the “enabling works” currently happening on the vast area of land at Wester Moffat in Airdrie.

Laing O’Rourke Project Manager Gerry Vallianatos, who is overseeing the works, explains the mammoth task of moving one million cubic metres of earth to tackle a 40-metre difference in levels across the landscape.

Standing at the location on the lower end of the site that will be home to the heart of the hospital – the main block – he explains the “cut and fill” process. This involves moving earth from the higher end of the former farmland to the lower end, to build up a level platform for the hospital.

Gerry is also seen in front of the spot where a multi-storey car park will be built as part of parking provision amounting to twice as much as the current hospital. He notes it will have a 34,000-square-metre footprint, with three storeys of parking, and a superstructure made primarily of pre-cast concrete.

Laing O’Rourke Site Engineer Abby Cruickshank shows viewers the part of the site that will be home to a huge energy centre, designed to drive the project’s vision to create Scotland’s first net zero hospital and power its ambitions for a fully digital facility.

Explaining that much of the mechanical and electrical plant will arrive pre-assembled by specialists, Abby is seen standing on a piling mat – a temporary working platform built from granular materials to provide a stable, level surface. This allows the safe operation of construction machinery used to install piles (structural elements) into the ground to create strong foundations.

She then appears where the five ward blocks will be, telling viewers much of the structures will be made of pre-cast concrete manufactured elsewhere and then assembled on site to make the process quicker, safer and higher quality.

Abby also talks about construction job opportunities linked to the project, available at www.laingorourke.com/careers/.

Monklands Replacement Project Director Graeme Reid said: “This exciting video shows viewers the extent of the pre-construction activity being carried out and gives them a sense of the size of the site and the scale of our plans for Scotland’s most advanced hospital.

“This month the project team submitted our Full Business Case to the Scottish Government for their approval, which would allow hospital construction to start next year, with a targeted opening in 2031.”