If the pace of work accomplished over the past 19 months is maintained, the new Parliament building and adjacent open-air theatre could be completed by July, according to Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt.

He said €44m worth of work had already been carried out on the City Gate project, which was on target and on budget. During an on-site visit, Dr Gatt said lots had been done in the past 18 months. The €80 million project includes building a roofless theatre on the site of the bombed old theatre, a Parliament and the entrance to the city.

He said the rate of work was satisfactory and people could already start to appreciate renowned architect Renzo Piano’s artistic contribution.

Dr Gatt said local hard stone, cut and carefully selected from a quarry in Qala, was a major feature, particularly the cladding on the Parliament House facade.

The floor inside the Parliament chamber will be made of hard stone, as will a feature wall placed behind the Speaker’s seat.

MPs will be seated in rows facing the Speaker in a V shape and a visitors’ gallery and press box will overlook the room.

Dr Gatt said the first phase, to be completed by the end of this year or early next year, will be the new square behind Parliament, on the former police station site.

It will feature a large statue of De Valette. The front of House area of the open theatre is expected to be completed at about the same time.

Asked whether this was the right time for the project, given the economic situation and the fact that families were finding it difficult to cope with the cost of living increase, Dr Gatt said it was.

He said other countries, such as France, were also investing heavily in capital projects to generate work. This project also involved important transfer of knowledge as no hard stone cladding had ever been done in Malta.