Halifax's Centennial Building's flood repairs make progress

The flooded areas of the Victoria General Hospital in Halifax won't fully return to use until sometime next year.

A pipe burst in the Centennial Building in September, damaging three floors.

Health and Wellness Minister Leo Glavine said the work on the second and third floors is complete, with the exception of cleaning the areas. That work is underway and those floors will be handed over to the medical teams on Nov. 30.

Glavine said the intensive care unit will take until the end of the year to get back into use. The fourth and fifth floors, which were hit the hardest, will take longer.

"On the fifth floor, drywall is now going up to replace the damaged area there, so that will be into the new year before that is ready to go," Glavine said.

He said asbestos was released through some of the water going down through ventilation equipment, creating additional work.

He said it's necessary to restore the flooded areas "because of patient load and the surgical capacity in terms of ICUs, it's necessary for some time to still use the Centennial Building."

Who will pay?

The health minister said insurance will cover the majority of the restoration costs, but "we may have to look at some additional [money] in order to get the fourth and fifth [floors] in the state they're required for medical care."

Glavine said because of concerns over the water and moisture, the insurance companies are debating if they're going to continue to insure certain pieces of equipment, something he termed "problematic."

His department has no final figure on the amount of damage the building sustained during the flood, adding the provincial health authority will provide the cost of necessary repairs.