{"id":890429,"date":"2026-02-05T23:11:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T05:11:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/05\/contractor-accused-of-lack-of-transparency-at-delayed-900m-cancer-centre\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T23:11:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T05:11:52","slug":"contractor-accused-of-lack-of-transparency-at-delayed-900m-cancer-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/05\/contractor-accused-of-lack-of-transparency-at-delayed-900m-cancer-centre\/","title":{"rendered":"Contractor accused of \u2018lack of transparency\u2019 at delayed \u00a3900m cancer centre"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A Welsh NHS trust has warned that the construction schedule at \u00a3900m cancer centre is at risk of \u201cfurther slippage\u201d as board members accused the contractor of a lack of transparency.<\/p>\n

Velindre University NHS Trust said the work programme on the \u00a3\u00a3321m Velindre Cancer Centre (VCC) in Cardiff could face further delays, three-and-a-half years after a contractor was first appointed to the job.<\/p>\n

The project is being delivered by the Acorn consortium under a contract to finance, design, build and maintain the new building.<\/p>\n

The consortium is made up of 28 members,<\/a> including Spanish multinational construction firm Sacyr, investor Kajima Partnerships, asset manager Abrdn, and Kier Facilities Services.<\/p>\n

Minutes of the trust\u2019s November VCC scrutiny sub-committee, which have just been published, show members are becoming increasingly concerned that a push to recoup lost time could lead to a \u201closs of quality\u201d in the build project and have warned construction is behind schedule.<\/p>\n

Key construction milestones, such as the ground floor slab, were completed 53 days late, the board heard The prefabricated external walls (facades)
were also late, the minutes said.<\/p>\n

The minutes said: \u201cThe contractor has issued three versions of the programme, each showing further delays, and the ability to recover time is diminishing as the project progresses.<\/p>\n

The trust also said \u201ctransparency\u201d with the contractor is an issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sub-committee expressed frustration over the contractor\u2019s lack of transparency and reluctance to share problems early,\u201d the minutes stated.<\/p>\n

Mark Trumper, the trust\u2019s senior responsible owner, said recent meetings had been held with the contractor to improve \u201copenness and collaboration, noting cultural differences and the need for relationship-building\u201d.<\/p>\n

The trust agreed the following action will be taken going forward: \u201cClearer narrative to be provided in future reports to explain the risks and mitigation actions, as well as regular updates on the contractor relationship and progress at future meetings.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2024, the costs for the project drastically increased from \u00a3562m<\/a> to \u00a3884.8m.<\/p>\n

According to its website, the trust first suggested a cost of \u00a3240m back in 2010.<\/p>\n

The new medical building will replace the current Velindre Cancer Centre, which was built in 1956, with a 32,000 square metre treatment and research facility. It is scheduled to open in 2027.<\/p>\n

A statement from Velindre University NHS Trust said:\u00a0\u201cThe safety and quality of the new Velindre Cancer Centre are paramount.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere quality concerns have arisen, they have been actively managed through the contractual and technical assurance processes, including via a third-party independent tester, that exist for precisely this purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt no stage have the issues identified compromised the structural safety of the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe contractor has provided revised programmes and is implementing mitigation measures to recover time wherever possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur priority is delivering a state-of-the-art cancer centre that will deliver better outcomes through world-class cancer treatment, enhanced diagnostic capability and greater access to innovation, training and research.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new Velindre Cancer Centre will open in spring 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n

CN<\/em> approached Sacyr, which leads the consortium, for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Joshua Stein<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Welsh NHS trust has warned that the construction schedule at \u00a3900m cancer centre is at risk of \u201cfurther slippage\u201d as board members accused the contractor of a lack of transparency. Velindre University NHS Trust said the work programme on the \u00a3\u00a3321m Velindre Cancer Centre (VCC) in Cardiff could face further delays, three-and-a-half years after<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":890430,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[549,26535],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-890429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-accused","category-contractor"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=890429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/890430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=890429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=890429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=890429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}