About $72 million worth of construction bids have been awarded so far for the new Wishard Hospital project slated to take more than three years to complete.

The contracts total about 14 percent of the entire construction package for the $754 million project, said Matt Gutwein, president and CEO of Health & Hospital Corp. of Marion County, which owns the hospital.

Gutwein presented his progress report Thursday evening to the City-County Council’s Municipal Corporations Committee.

“We are absolutely on schedule and slightly below budget,” he said.

The 1.2-million-square-foot hospital will be built on 37 acres at the west end of the IUPUI campus. The hospital corporation exercised a land-swap option in November with Indiana University.

The agreement called for Wishard to take control of the hospital site immediately, and then gradually cede ownership of its current hospital site over the next four years.

The land Wishard received contained the old Larue Carter psychiatric hospital facility, which has been torn down, and the former State Department of Health building, which is being demolished.

Bids that have been awarded include demolition work at the two sites, as well as work on the parking garage, hospital foundation and utilities.

The goal is to have all bids awarded by January.

“That’s a pretty accelerated schedule," Gutwein said, “so we can attempt to take advantage of the highly favorable market conditions that exist right now.”

The poor economy has slowed the amount of construction projects, which is creating more competition and driving down costs.

Project managers are ahead of goals to award 15 percent of the work to minorities, 8 percent to women, and 3 percent to veterans, Gutwein said.

Health & Hospital Corp. will use $661 million in bonds to help finance the new hospital.