Samoa officially opened its new parliamentary precinct on Monday as part of the country’s 64th Independence Day celebrations.
Sam Mostyn, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt opened the precinct; however, construction work is still ongoing and may take a few more months before the buildings can be used.
The precinct consists of three buildings: the Legislative Assembly Office funded by Australia, the Parliament of Samoa (Maota Fono) jointly funded by Australia and Samoa, and the Members’ Lobby (Luafatasaga Kalapu Lobby) funded by Samoa.
Australia is investing a total of AU$48.8 million ($94.2 million) to support works at the parliamentary precinct. The investment includes AU$34.1 million ($66 million) for the Samoan Legislative Assembly Office.
The Legislative Assembly Office will host the offices of the Speaker, the Clerk, parliamentary committee meeting rooms, a parliamentary library, archives and conference facilities. It is designed to be modern and accessible, with climate-resilient features including elevated foundations, energy-efficient insulation, a water harvesting system and universal access design.
