The exact number of investment capital spent on the National Assembly House project is over VND5.5 trillion, or roughly US$260 million, with some 80% of it already disbursed, said the Construction Minister.

In a report sent to the National Assembly, Minister Trinh Dinh Dung noted that of VND1.6 trillion allocated for the project in 2014 over VND1.01 trillion had been disbursed. Until now, VND4.38 trillion has been disbursed for the project.

In the construction process, the number of meeting rooms was adjusted up from 48 to 80 to sufficiently accommodate plenary sessions as well as group meetings, while the number of offices for the Ethnicity Council and committees decreased from nine to four. These changes resulted in adjustments of floor space, and structural, mechanical and electrical systems.

The Government approved the adjusted design on November 15, 2012.

The new building, though not yet fully completed, has been put to use, with the ongoing NA sitting taking place there.

The report indicated that the volume of building construction and interior equipment was huge.

Due to the special requirement of the work, many kinds of material and equipment had to be imported. Some items which were not available on the market were placed in special orders such as the lighting system and conference facilities.

Despite great efforts from the contractor, some details of the building are not as perfect as expected in terms of aesthetic standards due to the shortage of time.

After this NA sitting, the investor, the consultants, the contractors and the project management board will put the finishing touches on the project before handing over the building by the traditional Lunar New Year 2015.

SGT/VNN