One fifth of the works to reconstruct the Parliamentʾs building have been carried out so far. There was spent 46 of the 250 million lei projected. On September 1, Speaker Mihai Ghimpu paid a visit to the Parliament and asked the contractors to maximally reduce the costs, Info-Prim Neo reports. The facade of the building has been repaired. Works on the exterior of the buildingʾs back go on. There will be built additional offices. The design of the canteen was changed. There were constructed two terraces. Alexandru Gutu, the director of the main contractor Consfirm Grup, said that the building will be reconstructed by the end of 2009 if the necessary financial resources are allocated. “There was spent over 46 million lei, but we need 250 million lei,” Gutu said. Asked where this money came from, Gutu said that it was allocated from the state treasury, that is from the budget. The representatives of the construction company said they donʾt know about the existence of a grant used for reconstruction works, about which the Construction Ministry was speaking. Alexandru Gutu also said that 70% of the used materials have been imported because the quality requirements are special for such buildings. “The building materials are not from Turkey. I can say that this building will not need a repair during 50 years.” Petru Morari, the head of the state-owned company “Assistance to Beneficiaries of Social Facilities”, told Mihai Ghimpu that the works in the assembly hall and on the third floor, where there are the offices of the Speaker and his deputies will be finished by Italian specialists who carried out similar works in the Parliament of Azerbaijan. Morari asked Mihai Ghimpu to choose the color of the walls, furniture and parquet in the offices of the MPs. The offices will be equipped with TV set, furniture, telephone and even video camera. “I like when everything is done as it should, but this money could be directed for other purposes in times of crisis. We do not have money for pensions and salaries, but for luxury buildings we have,” Mihai Ghimpu said. Mihai Ghimpu asked the workers if the parquet can be replaced with linoleum. The workers said that it would not be right as the Parliament is a unique building and should look appropriately. Ghimpu demanded that the internal stairs be covered with grit stone, not marble. This way, there will be saved an estimated 4 million lei. The Speaker said that he had worked as a jurist at a building company and will thus check how the tender contests were held. “We can work in other buildings as well. The important thing is that we work,” he said. Mihai Ghimpu discussed with the workers on the building side. They complained that the workload is very large, but the salaries are low. “According to my calculations, will be paid low salaries. We work by 25-28 days a month, from 8.00 to 20.00, by 160 lei a day,” said a young man. “As I shook your hand, I ask you to pay greater attention to the construction sector,” the man asked Ghimpu. Alexandru Gutu said that the reconstruction project was worked out by the state-owned company Urbanproiect in 2006.