New parliament to be ready in 2023

The new House of Representatives building will go up on the site of the old Pasydy headquarters in central Nicosia, with the building expected to be completed by 2023, MPs heard on Monday.

Speaking at the House finance committee that was scrutinising parliament’s budget for 2018, permanent secretary of the parliament Vasiliki Anastasiades said around €8.5 million would be set aside this year for initial construction work at the site.

The total cost of the project is estimated at €72 million plus VAT.

As a result, said Anastasiades, previous plans to erect a new floor at the site of the current building have been scrapped.

Instead, in the interim, new office and storage space would be created within the existing parliament building, for which the total cost is estimated at €600,000.

In the meantime, the House of Representatives has leased out an old Turkish Cypriot property on 38 Omirou street. The site is to be restored, the aim being to convert it into a ‘Citizens House’ where the public can be informed about the work of parliament and the legislative process.

For his part, House speaker Demetris Syllouris said he has submitted a proposal to convert the one-way street in front of parliament into a pedestrian walkway.

On other matters, Anastasiades said that the ‘Code of Conduct’ for MPs is being drafted and should be ready soon. The code will be implemented via a House resolution.

Parliament’s budget for 2018 comes to €34.2 million, compared to €25.8 million in 2017. The €8.4 million difference will go to preliminary construction work on the new building.

The major items in the 2018 budget include: €5.026 million for MPs’ salaries and allowances; €5.487 million for staff salaries; €921,651 for operational expenses; and €10.426 million in government grants to political parties.

 

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