Tender for new legal service building cancelled (Updated)

The transport ministry has cancelled a tender for a new building for the legal service due to “proper management of public finances” it announced on Friday.

As a result, plans to construct a new building for the legal service have been postponed until further notice.

Similarly, new buildings for the interior and transport ministries have also been postponed for the same reason.

Auditor general Odysseas Michaelides had long been against the plans, reportedly due to the planned opulence of the buildings.

According to the plans, the building would have had 11 above-ground floors and two basement floors.

The attorney general’s office would have had an area of 74 square metres, while his assistant’s office would have been 72 square metres in area. The office also would have had its own bathroom and two separate waiting rooms.

In addition, the building was designed with six lifts, one of which was for the exclusive use of the attorney general and one for the exclusive use of the assistant attorney general.

The matter will be re-evaluated after the extent of funding is assessed to construct new buildings for the state laboratory and Nicosia district court, as well as the energy efficiency improvements for government buildings.

Savvides had earlier defended the plans, saying “the design and specifications for the new legal service building were drawn up by the legally competent department of public works.”

“It saddens me to note that once again, before hearing back from the relevant government services and departments, the auditor general is following his favourite tactic of making public his reports, letters and observations presenting only the views of his office, in a way that negatively shapes public opinion to the detriment of those it occasionally targets,” he added.