The site for a new Dunedin hospital has been narrowed down to the north end of the central city.
The current Dunedin Hospital. Photo: RNZ / Ian Telfer
The previous government announced the more than $1.2 billion project during the election in September, but did not rule out building the hospital at the Wakari hospital site, 4km out of the CBD.
The Southern Partnership Group, now led by former Labour cabinet minister Pete Hodgson, said it had narrowed the choice to just a few flat sites between the Octagon and Otago University.
Sites such as Wakari hospital, Carisbrook and the former Hillside railway workshops had been ruled out, Mr Hodgson said.
The group has also ruled out using the university's Cumberland and Hayward residential colleges, the North Oaks sportsground and the current Dunedin hospital site for the rebuild, he said.
There has been speculation that the government might use the Cadbury factory site, and that appears to still be in play.
Other options may be the council Frederick Street carpark and other Crown land in the CBD.
But Mr Hodgson would not confirm any of these.
"What we are saying to landowners is if you are being considered, you will not read or hear about it in the media, you will be approached directly," he said.
"People have been talking about other sites and I am not going to," he said.
"We are looking at more than one site and we are looking at several blocks, and the possibility of using parts of more than one block."
"So there are many permutations that are being considered, and we will need to take some further advice."
The group hoped to recommend a final site to government ministers by the end of March, he said.
