by Linda Straker
- Opening to be a joint sitting of the both Houses of Parliament
- Environmentally friendly building located in Mt Wheldale
Almost 14 years after it was destroyed by the category 3 Hurricane Ivan in 2004, Grenada’s Houses of Parliament will once again have a permanent home.
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines and Caricom Secretary General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque are among regional leaders who have confirmed that they will be attending the official opening ceremony for the new Parliament building on Thursday, 21 June 2018.
“Please be informed the Prime Minister Dr the Honourable Keith Rowley has accepted an invitation from Prime Minister of Grenada the Honourable Keith Mitchell, to attend the opening of the new Parliament building in Grenada,” said a news release from Rowley’s office.
Local diplomats are also scheduled to attend the ceremony. Press Secretary Kisha Alexander-Grant said that other leaders and dignitaries are expected to attend the ceremony which is happening 100 days since the New National Party returned to office following the 13 March General Election.
The new building which is located in Mt Wheldale, is built in close proximity to where former Prime Minister Maurice Bishop once resided. Built with funding from the governments of Australia, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates and the Government of Grenada, it will officially be handed over and opened on Thursday.
Representatives from the donor governments are also scheduled to witness the opening which takes the form of a joint sitting of the both the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament.
The former parliament building York House, located on Church Street was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Since the devastation, parliamentary sessions have been temporarily held at the Grenada Trade Centre, while the offices of Parliament are housed in a building next to the ministerial complex in Tanteen.
Designed by Caribbean Office of Co-Operative Architecture (COCOA), the EC$23 million environmentally friendly building was built by Quinn Co Limited
