South Australia's health minister says he's not worried by reports the $2.1 billion new Royal Adelaide Hospital could be further delayed because of plumbing issues.
Contractors believe problems with the hospital's hot water systems could cost up to $50 million and take months to fix, The Australian newspaper reported.
Health Minister Jack Snelling on Friday confirmed there had been plumbing issues at the massive project but declined to go into detail.
He said he was "not particularly concerned" by the prospect of further delays at the massive project which is already months behind schedule and at least $400 million over budget.
"The simple fact is we won't be taking delivery of the NRAH until it's completed," Mr Snelling told reporters.
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"Of course there are going to be issues that need to be rectified by the builders between now and then.
"If you look at any of the hospitals that have been built in recent years right around Australia, all of them have had delays associated with them, some of them particularly substantial."
Mr Snelling in April issued the facility's developers with a major default notice, putting pressure on them to come up with a firm date for handover.
The consortium has since missed multiple deadlines for technical completion, making it unlikely that the hospital will accept patients until well into next year.
Mr Snelling has stressed that taxpayers will not be charged for payments to the developers until the government took ownership of the hospital.
Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said the project was "lurching from one crisis to another" and there was a risk the new hospital would not be open before next winter's flu season.
"(Mr Snelling) has got no idea. He is not interested in this portfolio," Mr Marshall said.
"He has no handle on this absolutely critical project for South Australia."
