Udecott chairman tours Parliament before relocation

URBAN Development Corporation (Udecott) chairman Noel Garcia Wednesday toured the space currently occupied by Parliament in preparation for its move back to the Red House next year. Garcia told Newsday it was his first visit in preparation for the relocation and Udecott was starting to lay plans for what to do with the space at the Waterfront that Parliament currently occupies when it becomes vacant.

“We are projected to complete the renovation of the Red House by the end of November and the companion building shortly thereafter,” he said. “We will start the physical moving of Parliament sometime very early in the new year.”

The tour was led by Clerk of the House Jacqui Sampson-Meiguel and included Richard P Young, chairman of the TT International Financial Centre, which is based at the Waterfront.

Parliament relocated in October 2011 to Tower D, International Waterfront Centre, Wrightson Road to allow the restoration of the Red House.

In April 2013, during renovation work, ancient remains of four First Peoples’ bones and pottery artefacts were unearthed at the site. On October 11, 2017, the Prime Minister said the bones would be properly interred and a memorial erected when the Parliament returns to the building in 2019.

The estimated budget for restoration is $441 million. Construction work restarted in December 2016 and is continuing, with an estimated completion date of the first quarter of 2019. Udecott was appointed to supply project management and construction management services.