The new parliament building designated for National Heroes Circle will cost US$50 million ($7.5 billion), according to the Urban Development Corporation, UDC, the agency that will oversee the project’s implementation.

Its just one of the elements of the project to develop a parliamentary square that will not only create more space for lawmakers to carry out their legislative functions, but will also be positioned as an attraction for Kingston, with green spaces for public enjoyment and interaction.

UDC recently received the final plans from the winning design team, Design Collaborative Limited, following slight tweaks.

“They have taken that winning design refined it and improved and now we have the final version,” said UDC General Manager Heather Pinnock while speaking at an online and public forum hosted by the UDC and Environmental Solutions Limited last Thursday.

“The estimated cost of the construction of the building is just over US$50 million,” she said during the event which was steamed from the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston. The conference centre is itself a state asset held by UDC.

The proposed timeline for construction of the new parliamentary square is May 2021 to March 2023, according to the environmental impact assessment, EIA, published in mid-October.

Efforts at ascertaining how the US$50m would be financed were unsuccessful up to press time.

It’s a slight setback from the

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