Up to last February the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation had paid a total of €29,306,655 on the project involving City Gate, the new parliament building and the open theatre and adjoining pjazza.

Answering a parliamentary question by Opposition Whip Joe Mizzi, Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt said yesterday that the outlay could be broken down as €1,485,112 for City Gate, €12,960,721 for the new parliament, and €1,445,977 for the open theatre and adjoining pjazza.

Minister Gatt added that City Gate was under construction. The parliament building’s superstructure was almost complete and works had started on mechanical, electrical and water systems, as had exterior façade works. The contract for finishing works had been adjudicated and the successful contractor would be starting on his work soon.

As for the open theatre, backstage works were proceeding according to schedule and the ground should have been ready by the middle of this month. Works on the foundations of the theatre itself were also proceeding and work on the steel structure was expected to start at the beginning of this month.