Ministry of Foreign Affairs Downtown Offices to Be Completed Next Year

Construction of the new offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, to be located in downtown Kingston, is expected to be completed by early next year.

An additional sum of $253.8 million has been set aside in the 2018/19 Estimates of Expenditure to facilitate the project.

The relocation of the Ministry to downtown is intended to contribute to the re-development of that area.

The project also aims to provide customised space to adequately support the Ministry’s needs in terms of accommodation of staff, meeting and conference facilities and waiting areas for diplomats and other visitors.

So far under the project, construction of coastal revetment and site preparation is 90 per cent complete, while site setup, including erection of hoarding and installation of utilities, and substructure works (piling) for the office building has concluded.

The project is being funded by the Governments of Jamaica and the People’s Republic of China.

It was originally slated to last from April 2008 to December 2010 and is now scheduled to end in March 2019, following several extensions.