The Ministry of Finance has described as unfounded the Comptroller General's statements in relation to the issue of housing the Administration of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance in the Metropolitan building.
In a statement today, the Ministry of Finance notes that it will submit all relevant documents, information as well as summary copies of the assessment reports to the relevant Parliamentary Committee of the House of Representatives and "any questions raised will be answered in subsequent sessions."
It will be recalled that the Parliamentary Finance Committee, following a recommendation from the Audit Office, decided to cross the funds for the purchase of the Metropolitan and Nicosia City Centre buildings.
The Ministry of Finance recalls the decision of the Council of Ministers to address the urgent housing needs of government departments.
The relevant call for expressions of interest was published on 13 September 2019, and proposals for a total of 16 properties were submitted, which were evaluated by the Public Works Department, which prepared a recommendation for the allocation of suitable buildings, according to the needs recorded and prioritising the most immediate needs.
According to the Ministry of Finance, among the selected buildings were the buildings named Metropolitan and Nicosia City Centre, which, according to a decision of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Nicosia, are to be built in the city of Nicosia. 10.3.2021, if the acquisition process is successfully finalised, the Administration of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance and the Social Insurance Services will be relocated to the Metropolitan building. Similarly, the Administration of the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, the Department of the Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver as well as the Nicosia Outpatient Clinics and Dental Services of the Ministry of Health are scheduled to relocate to the Nicosia City Centre building. The Department of Cadastre and Land Surveying, as the competent department, carried out the valuations of the two buildings based on internationally recognised valuation methods in three different ways. It is noted that the valuations are carried out by at least three different valuers within the Land Registry and Surveying Department, thus ensuring the impartiality, transparency and objectivity of the valuations. In order to complete the valuations, information was obtained from the Department of Public Works and from the Nicosia Municipality as the competent planning authority, while the valuers carried out a thorough market research of sales and rentals of modern offices in the area, taking into account the quality of the building's construction.
According to the Ministry of Finance, in particular for the Metropolitan building, the market value of the building was estimated at EUR 20,350,000 and agreed at the stage of negotiation of the financial aspect at EUR 21,315,000, i.e. 4.7% higher than the initial estimate.
For his part, the owner's representative private appraiser estimated the value of the property at 26,220,00 euros, which was rejected by the Department of Cadastre and Land Surveying as too high, as reported.
"In view of the above, the positions and claims of the Auditor General of the Republic on the matter are assessed as unfounded while all relevant documents, information as well as summary copies of the valuation reports will be submitted to the relevant Parliamentary Committee of the House of Representatives and any questions raised in the following sessions will be answered," the Ministry of Finance concluded.
Source: CNA
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