The planned new eye hospital will replace the existing Sunderland Eye Infirmary facilities, which are now more than 75 years old.
The new facility will provide 7,000 sqm of clinical accommodation, with the main entrance and reception providing level access from street level both front and rear to make all floors easily accessible for all.
The ground floor will house the emergency department, and the hospital will also include medical retina, diagnostic imaging and outpatient services as well as clinical functions.
The project is part of the Riverside Sunderland regeneration scheme, creating a mixed use urban quarter, already backed with £100m investment from Legal & General.
Work is scheduled to start on site in summer 2022 and complete sometime in 2024.
Ken Bremner, chief executive of South Tyneside & Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Sunderland has always been home to specialist eye services in our region and we are very proud to continue this legacy by building a hospital that will serve our communities for many future generations to come. As the NHS recovers from the impact of COVID-19, the new eye hospital will be essential in making sure we do all we can to reduce waiting lists and make sure that local people and patients across the wider region can be treated as quickly as possible.”
Last year Kier built a £10m eye care centre at the Golden Jubilee NHS hospital in Clydebank.
Dan Doherty, regional director at Kier Construction North & Scotland, said: “There are very few specialist eye hospitals in the country and we are pleased to have been given the opportunity to develop a new state of the art eye hospital in Sunderland and make it fit for the future.”
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