The new parliament building is expected to cost €45 million – 50 per cent more than the original estimate – by the time it is ready for handover to the Speaker at the end of March, Infrastructure Minister Joe Mizzi told the House Business Committee yesterday.

The committee heard a presentation by Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation chairman Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, who said the main stumbling block would be the delivery of the redesigned desks for MPs, promised for the last week of January.

Any delays on this item would cause consequential delays in the handing over, he said. Giving timelines freshly agreed with contractors, he said some items were practically completed and others would be ready by the end of this month or the end of February, such as the migration of live streaming cameras from the Palace and the programming of computer switching control functions. But timelines depended on daily progress.

One of the aspects that had attracted many general comments was the slow-moving deliveries of stone cladding, he said. This was now practically complete and pointing would start this week. By the beginning of February, Ordnance Street would be open to the public.

This week contractors would start handing over individual quarters of the office block

Something that had not been envisaged was the request to fix modesty panels to desks.

Dr Zrinzo Azzopardi said that this week contractors would start handing over individual quarters of the office block and these would progressively be handed over to the Speaker’s Office.

Installation of the desks should take only three days, giving way to installation of the sound system and four to five weeks of testing and commissioning for the congress system to be operative.

An analysis carried out by GHRC had shown that delivery of materials had generally not been respected. All materials were now in hand with very few exceptions, said Dr Zrinzo Azzopardi.