A scathing independent review has slammed Queensland’s former Labor government over its hospital expansion plan, revealing every one of the 15 major projects is now considered “undeliverable” in its current form — and the cost has exploded by nearly $10 billion. What was meant to be a $9.8 billion rollout of new and expanded hospitals has ballooned to $17.2 billion, according to the review by Klok Advisory managing director Sam Sangster. At a breakfast with industry leaders on Wednesday — where one government table was notably empty — Health Minister Tim Nicholls called it an “unmitigated” blowout. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today “The unmitigated cost in those projects is $7 billion,” Nicholls told the room. The review revealed contracts were rushed through without business cases — and in one alarming example, three hospital car parks were awarded at six times the usual rate, costing up to $250,000 per space. Projects that typically need six months of planning were pushed through in just six weeks. “Plan slowly, execute fast, would’ve been a better approach,” Sangster said. Plans unveiled: Early designs for Toowoomba and Coomera hospitals. Credit: 7NEWS Fenced off and frozen: One of 15 hospital projects now in limbo. Credit: 7NEWS Some of the biggest blowouts include more than $1 billion extra for the new Bundaberg Hospital and Redcliffe Hospital expansions. A new Queensland Cancer Centre is also delayed by at least three years. The projects affected include planned hospitals in Coomera, Toowoomba, and the new Queensland Cancer Centre in Brisbane. “In their current form, they don’t fit in those budgets by any measure,” Sangster said. “The procurement was done in about 12 to 14 days — monumentally short for projects of that scale.” Health Minister Tim Nicholls lays out the state’s hospital rescue plan Credit: 7NEWS Despite the mess, the new state government insists the projects can be salvaged. Nicholls unveiled a ‘hospital rescue plan’ promising 2600 extra beds, three new hospitals, 10 expansions, a revised Queensland Cancer Centre, and a health workforce boost of 46,000 by 2032. He said areas like Gold Coast and Townsville would be among the first to benefit. But critics say the plan comes without key details — like how much it will actually cost taxpayers, or when any of it will be delivered. “What we see today is no timeline for construction, no commitment in terms of budget,” Opposition frontbencher Mark Bailey said. And with Brisbane’s 2032 Olympics looming, some are questioning whether Queensland has the time, resources and workforce to pull off both massive infrastructure efforts at once. “The question now is the timeframes they’re delivered over,” said Infrastructure Partnerships Australia CEO Adrian Dwyer. - with Fraser Barton