A north-east MSP is demanding a timescale for the construction of the new maternity hospital and cancer centre in Aberdeen.
Labour’s Lewis Macdonald said no-one wants to see a repeat of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) which took more than a decade between the go-ahead to a contractor being announced.
The Scottish Government is putting £120milllion into non-profit distribution (NPD) to pay for the scheme on the Foresterhill site.
Mr Macdonald said he was writing to Health Secretary Alex Neil and NHS Grampian chairman Bill Howatson asking for a timetable.
“This scheme involves a private partner spending £120million and being repaid with interest from the public purse over 25 to 30 years,” he said.
“It took 11 years on the AWPR to get from a decision to support the project, taken by Labour First Minister Jack McConnell in 2003, to an announcement of the private partner who will pay towards the development only a few weeks ago.
“Part of that delay was due to legal action, but part was due to the many months it took to get a public private NPD scheme in place. We do not want similar delays at ARI.”
Mr Macdonald added: “The Scottish Government must tell us whether building at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary will begin before the next election in 2016.
“There would be nothing worse than to have a funding announcement now, only to find nothing is going to happen for years to come.”
A spokesman for NHS Grampian said it was impossible to give any details on construction at this stage.
“We have only just received confirmation of the funding and discussions will take place with Scottish Government and Scottish Futures Trust over the next few weeks to agree the plan and timescale for project, he said.