THE opening of the new maternity hospital at the Royal Victoria Hospital could be delayed by another 28 months.
The project is already ten years behind schedule and has cost £97m to date.
Belfast Trust acquired the building in March 2024 and began a "a process of ensuring a safe transition of service to the new site. However, just a few months later in July, the Trust said that during testing of water outlets, high levels of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were discovered in the water system.
Speaking in the Assembly on Tuesday, Health Minister Mike Nesbitt was questioned on the facility by Alliance MLA Danny Donnelly.
"There were three options, and I know that the trust is going for option B. That appears to have a timeline — I am sorry to say this — of 28 months. That is another two years and a bit and several million pounds.
"As I said, I have met the relevant official. I have not accepted this. I cannot gild this lily; I cannot soften this. None of the three options can be guaranteed to solve the problem.
"The third option is to rip out all the water works and start again, and that will take even longer.
"The area of real danger, as you know, is the neonatal unit, where the most vulnerable children are. I am far from finished on this. There is nothing good to say, except that it is a magnificent facility that is not in use."
Sinn Féin MLA Philip McGuigan said: "It’s deeply concerning and disappointing that the new maternity hospital is facing yet another major delay. Mothers and their babies deserve to have access to world-class care and modern facilities.
“The Health Minister must now act urgently to resolve these issues and ensure no further setbacks to this long-overdue and much-needed project for families and workers.”
A spokesperson for the Belfast Trust said the significant delays were "deeply" frustrating for everyone involved in the project, but it was vital the water safety issues were addressed before vulnerable patients were cared for.
They added that their proposed solution to the problem was arrived at after a review of all "available information regarding the water systems within the new Maternity Hospital".
"The work included in the preferred option will take, in total, 24 months and then four months to move staff, patients, and services into the new hospital."
