The Ministry of Finance characterized as unfounded the positions of the Auditor General in relation to the issue of housing the Administration of the Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance in the Metropolitan building.
In today's announcement, YPOIK notes that it will submit all relevant documents, information as well as summary copies of the evaluation reports to the competent Parliamentary Committee of the Parliament and "will answer any questions raised in the next sessions".
It is recalled that the parliamentary Finance Committee, at the suggestion of the Audit Office, decided to cross the funds for the purchase of the Metropolitan and Nicosia City Center buildings.
YPOIK recalls the decision of the Council of Ministers to address the urgent housing needs of government services.
The relevant call for expressions of interest was published on September 13, 2019, while proposals were submitted for a total of 16 properties which were evaluated by the Department of Public Works which prepared a proposal for the distribution of suitable buildings according to the registered needs and prioritizing the coverage of most immediate needs.
According to the Ministry of Finance, among the selected buildings were the buildings with the name Metropolitan and Nicosia City Center, which according to a Decision of the Council of Ministers dated. 10.3.2021, in case of successful finalization of the acquisition process, the Administration of the Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance as well as the Social Insurance Services will be relocated to the Metropolitan building. Respectively, in the building of Nicosia City Center, the relocation of the Administration of the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, the Department of Company Registrar and Official Recipient as well as the Outpatient Clinics of Nicosia and the Dental Services of the Ministry are planned.
Subsequently, for each selected building, a detailed evaluation was carried out by the competent technical services of the Republic. The Department of Lands and Surveys, as the competent department, carried out the assessments of the two buildings based on internationally recognized assessment methods in three different ways. It is noted that the assessments are carried out by at least three different assessors within the Department of Lands and Surveys, thus ensuring the impartiality, transparency and objectivity of the assessments. For the completion of the assessments, information was received from the Department of Public Works and from the Municipality of Nicosia as a competent urban planning authority, while the appraisers conducted a thorough market research of sales and rent of modern offices in the area, taking into account the quality of construction.
According to the Ministry of Finance, specifically for the Metropolitan building, the market value of the building was estimated at 20.350.000 euros and was agreed at the stage of negotiating the financial aspect to 21.315.000 euros, which is 4,7% higher than the initial estimate.
For his part, the representative private appraiser of the owner estimated the value of the property at 26.220.00 euros, which was rejected by the Department of Lands and Surveys as too high, as reported.
"In view of the above, the positions and allegations of the Auditor General of the Republic on the matter are assessed as unfounded while all relevant documents, information and summary copies of the evaluation reports will be submitted to the competent Parliamentary Committee of the Parliament and any response will be answered. questions will be asked in the next sessions ", concludes YPOIK.
Source: KYPE