Construction to Start on Foreign Affairs Building By End of Financial Year

Construction on a new building to house the offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade will commence by the end of this financial year.

Some $75 million has been allocated in the 2014/2015 Estimates of Expenditure, for the building, which will be located in downtown Kingston.

The project is being funded mainly through a grant from the Government of the People’s Republic of China.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator, the Hon. A. J. Nicholson said work will begin towards the end of this financial year, “with a view to completing the entire project by December of 2016”.

“So what we are looking at is that by January 2017…it is expected that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade will be removed from Dominica Drive in New Kingston to new office space, downtown,” Minister Nicholson told JIS News. Minister Nicholson said that the Ministry has completed key pre-preliminary activities, including the acquisition of the land to house the office building. “The land will be located to the west of the building which houses the stock exchange,” he added.

“The major targets for this financial year will include the finalisation of the design of the building, the construction of a coastal revetment, which is a strong seawall, the relocation of some earth drains, the preparation of land for construction, and the commencement of construction activities for building,” he said.

Minister Nicholson said the new building will provide adequate parking space for staff members and visitors.

“At the Ministry, we do not have adequate parking space and most of our officers have to park over on the other side of the street,” he said, adding that with this relocation the Ministry will no longer have to pay rent for office space.

“It is envisaged that it will be a larger building than what we have here at this point in time and it is supposed to be constructed with earthquake resistant materials and with energy conservation measures in place,” he said.