Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH) has begun accepting proposals for phase one for the new acute care hospital.
That process involves the hiring of a construction manager who will complete and deliver the first phase of the hospital.
David Musyj, hospital project leader and supervisor of London Health Sciences Centre, told AM800's Mornings with Mike and Meg that they are ahead of schedule.
"We are well underway, and the tender will close at the end of January, and that's for the construction of the first phase, they call it enabling works, and that's for a parking garage and education centre and administration area that will be built and be used during the construction project so the construction workers have somewhere to park so they're not parked all over the place," Musyj said.
Windsor Tecumseh MPP Andrew Dowie says he got word last week that WRH had been given approval from the province and says he's been in contact with premier Doug Ford every step of the way.
Dowie says Ford delivered for Windsor-Essex when the previous Wynne government failed to do so.
"What they see in premier Ford is someone who does deliver and that's something that is important for his brand, is someone who wants to get things done, get it done and ensure that when he makes commitment that he follows through with it, that is vital, and that is something that we're seeing reflected in the attention that this project is given," he said.
The cost of the hospital will be shared between the City of Windsor and the provincial government, with the province offering to pay 90 per cent of the bill.
The cost was estimated to be $2-billion 10 years ago and Dowie was confident it was likely to have risen given inflation.
"I don't think we will know until there actually is a tender. Obviously construction-flation has occurred. We see all kind of projects coming in well above where we were just a few short years ago, and there's no reason to believe that this project will not be impacted."
A separate tendering process will be initiated at a later stage to complete the remainder of the project scope.
Hospital officials say construction is on track to begin by 2026, if not sooner.
-With files from AM800's Mornings with Mike and Meg and The Shift with guest host Kyle Horner