Over the past six years, the Facilities Infrastructure Remediation Programme has delivered one of New Zealand’s largest and most complex healthcare infrastructure modernisation projects.
Spanning Auckland City Hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre, the Facilities Infrastructure Remediation Programme (FIRP) has upgraded critical infrastructure systems, reduced operational risk and strengthened the resilience of facilities that support healthcare delivery every day.
Carl Eagleton, Chief Medical Officer, Te Toka Tumai Auckland, says reliable infrastructure is fundamental to the delivery of safe health care.
‘Patients may not be aware that critical infrastructure has been upgraded through FIRP, yet every consultation, procedure, operation and emergency response depends on it. Reliable infrastructure is fundamental to safe patient care,’ says Eagleton.
Delivered within live hospital environments, FIRP combined large-scale infrastructure upgrades with meticulous operational planning and stakeholder coordination, while significant improvements were undertaken across electrical, HVAC, water, medical gas, fire protection and vertical transport systems.
As Tranche 1 reaches completion in July 2026, Auckland City Hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre are in a significantly stronger position to support patients, clinicians, and healthcare services well into the future. The programme leaves behind not only modernised infrastructure, but also a blueprint for delivering complex infrastructure upgrades in operational healthcare environments.
FIRP Programme Director Allan Johns says the programme’s significance extends well beyond the assets that have been improved.
‘FIRP was never simply about replacing aging assets; it was about reducing risk, strengthening resilience and ensuring critical infrastructure can continue supporting healthcare delivery for decades to come.’
Modernising critical infrastructure
Hospitals rely on an extensive network of interconnected infrastructure systems to support safe and effective healthcare delivery. Electrical systems, HVAC, medical gases, water services, lifts, fire protection systems, and building management systems all play critical roles in maintaining clinical operations.
Since 2019, FIRP Tranche 1 has delivered a broad programme of infrastructure improvements targeting many of these essential assets.
Electrical infrastructure was significantly upgraded through the construction of five new substations at Auckland City Hospital, three new switch rooms at Greenlane Clinical Centre and the migration of more than 120 low-voltage circuits, strengthening the reliability and resilience of electrical services across both campuses.
HVAC systems, building services controls and critical water infrastructure were upgraded to improve resilience and operational performance across both campuses.
One of the programme’s most visible achievements has been the replacement or upgrade of 49 lifts and one escalator. In a hospital environment, these vertical transport systems are critical to patient movement, logistics operations, emergency response, and clinical workflows.
Additional work included replacing more than 5000 smoke detectors, upgrading fire-protection systems, installing seismic restraints, and modernising medical gas alarm infrastructure. Collectively, these projects have reduced infrastructure risk and strengthened the resilience of healthcare facilities serving Auckland and the wider region.
Chris Cardwell, Regional Director Infrastructure, Health New Zealand, says FIRP represents a significant investment in the long-term resilience of Auckland’s healthcare facilities.
‘Much of this infrastructure operates behind the scenes, but it is fundamental to the delivery of safe, reliable health care,’ says Cardwell. ‘FIRP has strengthened the systems that support our hospitals every day, reducing risk and providing greater confidence that our facilities can continue to meet the needs of patients, staff, and the wider community into the future.’
Delivering improvements while hospitals keep running
One of the programme’s greatest achievements was how it was delivered. Unlike many infrastructure programmes, FIRP was undertaken within fully operational hospital environments where clinical services continued throughout construction, commissioning, and asset transitions.
Extensive planning and collaboration ensured impacts were minimised and healthcare services continued to operate safely throughout delivery.
To support delivery, FIRP developed a dedicated Disruption Management Framework that provided visibility of planned infrastructure works and potential impacts across both campuses. More than 340 high-risk infrastructure events were successfully coordinated through the programme, with no unplanned outages affecting clinical services.
The programme also established Health New Zealand’s first co-located Programme Management Office, bringing together project managers, engineers, contractors and specialist advisors in a collaborative environment focused on programme-wide outcomes.
According to Tranche 1 Programme Lead Martin Norman, collaboration has been central to the programme’s success.
‘Replacing critical infrastructure in a live hospital environment is never straightforward. Every outage required detailed planning and close coordination with clinical teams to ensure services remained available,’ says Norman. ‘The fact that we have completed this programme while maintaining healthcare delivery throughout is something the entire team is incredibly proud of.’
Innovation supporting future delivery
The scale and complexity of FIRP encouraged new approaches to infrastructure planning and delivery.
FIRP developed New Zealand’s first High Voltage Physical Twin, enabling infrastructure changes to be tested and validated before implementation on live systems. A physical model of the chilled water network was also created to support future planning.
These tools represent an important legacy of FIRP and demonstrate how physical modelling can support infrastructure delivery in highly complex operational environments.
Johns says the programme’s investment in physical twin technology reflects FIRP’s commitment to innovation and long-term infrastructure planning.
‘FIRP has encouraged new approaches to infrastructure planning,’ says Johns. ‘These tools create opportunities to better understand system interactions, support future planning and reduce risk when managing critical infrastructure,’ adds Johns.
Looking ahead
The completion of FIRP Tranche 1 coincides with the delivery of Auckland City Hospital’s Central Plant Complex – Te Manawāora, through FIRP Tranche 2. Together, the two programmes represent one of the most significant periods of infrastructure investment undertaken across Auckland’s major health campuses in recent decades.
David Warburton, Health New Zealand’s Interim National Director of Infrastructure, says under the 10-year Health Infrastructure Plan, the organisation works to group similar remediation projects together to provide efficiencies and improve delivery. FIRP is a great example of this approach.
‘The lessons from FIRP extend well beyond Auckland,’ says Warburton. ‘The programme demonstrates how strategic, long-term investment planning, strong governance, and collaborative delivery can improve infrastructure resilience while maintaining operational continuity in complex healthcare environments.’
As Tranche 1 reaches completion, its legacy is not simply the infrastructure that has been upgraded. It is a stronger, more resilient healthcare environment and a programme that demonstrates how complex infrastructure improvements can be successfully delivered while hospitals continue to provide care around the clock.
Facilities infrastructure remediation programme Tranche 1 by the numbers
- 49 lifts and one escalator replaced or upgraded
- five new substations constructed at Auckland City Hospital
- three new switchrooms delivered at Greenlane Clinical Centre
- 1000-plus building services controllers replaced
- 5220 smoke detectors replaced
- 552 fire alarm call points upgraded
- 3968 seismic brackets installed
- 133 medical gas alarm panels replaced
- 120-plus low-voltage circuits migrated
- 500 metres of service trenching and 4000 metres of ducts installed
- 200 metres of stainless steel water ring created at Greenlane Clinical Centre
- 340-plus high-risk infrastructure events completed in Tranche 1 and Trance 2 with no unplanned outages affecting clinical services.
Pictured: New Zealand’s first High Voltage Physical Twin. Image courtesy of the Facilities Infrastructure Remediation Programme.