Reconstruction of Parliament to resume next week

The works on the reconstruction of the Parliament building will bbe resumed next week. Minister of Regional Development and Constructions Marcel Raducan announced on August 9 that 20 workers had begun to prepare the building site. The Minister spoke about the reconstructions priorities. First, the meeting hall will be rebuilt and an additional story will be built for the MPs’ advisers. The second stage of reconstruction will be finalized by the end of the year and will include the blocks with the offices of the MPs’ and of the Parliament’s staff. “We have to make the most of the money allocated for the reconstruction. I don’t want to say that some works won’t be completed, but the available 200 million lei isn’t enough to repair and furnish all the offices. We hope the funds that will come will be enough”, said the Minister. Marcel Raducan said that local producers of building materials that meet the requirement of the project will have priority. He also instructed that only Moldovan companies participated in the reconstruction of the building. The Ministry of Finance today will transfer further 17 million lei for the reconstruction, with other allotments to follow. The estimated cost of the full reconstruction of the Parliament building is 300 million lei. The Parliament building and the Presidential Palace were vandalized during protests in April 2009. Previously Speaker Marian Lupu stated that the Parliament's spring-summer session would take place in the renovated building.