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St. George’s, June 18, 2010 (GIS) – The speculation about the future location of Grenada’s parliament building has ended.
Officials of the ministry of Works, Physical Development and Public Utilities have announced that the new building, to be financed by the Australian Government, will be constructed at Mt. Wheldale, St. George’s.
Minister Joseph Gilbert and Cecil Harris, the Chief Technical Officer in the ministry, made the announcement Thursday, June 17.
They said the Mt. Wheldale site will be expanded and York House – where the old parliament building was located until 2004 – is going to be “refurbished and brought back to its former glory.’’
However, a decision has not yet been made on the use of York House after it is restored. York House was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan.
Since the hurricane, members of the House of Representatives and the Senate have been using the Grenada Trade Centre at Morne Rouge for parliamentary sittings.
About three weeks ago, the government of Australia commissioned a consultant to visit Grenada on a study and to advise on the requirements for the new Grenada parliament building.
The consultant met with Speaker of the House of Representatives, George McGuire, and other local officials and examined possible sites for the construction of the parliament building, which will cost $5 million (Australian).
Finance Minister Nazim Burke, who hinted at the pending parliament project in this year’s budget presentation, said the building will include separate chambers for the House of Representatives and the Senate, a library and parking area.
“An exciting new feature is that we propose to make this parliament the first Green Parliament in this part of the world; a fitting tribute to our commitment to environmental management,” Hon. Burke said.
Tenders for the project should be awarded in August of next year, with the parliament due to completed in mid-2013.
Meanwhile, the search has ended for the site of another major infrastructural project that is expected to provide hundreds of Grenadian jobs. It’s for the construction of a Hall of Justice building that will consolidate the administrative infrastructure of the local legal system, including the high court and the registrar’s office.
Grenada is one of nine OECS countries in which Halls of Justice will be built under a project financed by the Caribbean Development Bank.
The 50,000-square-foot building will be constructed on the site that once housed the official residence of the Governor General of Grenada.
“It’s a massive structure that is going to be built,’’ Minister Gilbert said. “We are in to design phase of the building and hope that by next year that project could take off. It’s a very important project.’’
Hon. Gilbert identified the Town of St. George as an area requiring major infrastructural work, saying the capital city “needs to be revitalised.’’
One development initiative for the city, which included the construction of a new vendors’ market, a second cruise jetty and a casino, was being spearheaded by Zublin Grenada Ltd.
However, government recently announced that it was not ready at the moment to proceed with the initiative, which involved a public component of investment of state financial resources.
“There is a need to for us to pursue the enhancement of the Town of St. George, whether it’s through the Zublin initiative or some other,’’ Minister Gilbert said.
Some areas of the Town of St. George are “falling apart,’’ the Minister admitted.
“The Carenage is falling apart, Woolwich Road is falling apart and the whole drainage in the town needs to be improved,’’ he said. “The Market Square is a nightmare. I hardly pass there because it gives me a headache when I pass by the Market.’’