Presidency said no to cost reduction

Stortinget, Oslo presidency ParliamentStortinget Oslo, CC BY 2.0,

The parliamentary presidency said no to cost reduction of NOK 90 million

The Parliament’s Administration believed the construction project costs could have been cut by almost NOK 90 million. But the presidency said no allegedly due to security reasons.

 

In the OAGs (Riksrevisjonen) review of the project, they conclude that costs could have been reduced by between NOK 79.3 and 89.3 million, according to VG. The proposals for saving measures were proposed every year between 2013 and 2016.

The Administration of the Parliament has proposed, among other things, not to build a turning space shaped like a T in a tunnel that could save the project NOK 20 million, and estimated that NOK 15 million could be saved by not building another emergency room. It was also proposed to reduce costs of interior decoration, material selection and artwork.

The cost of the construction project at the Parliament (Storting) has increased from NOK 70 million in 2011 to an estimated NOK 2.3 billion this year.

Per Olaf Lundteigen (Centre Party) believes that the presidency shows lack of sobriety.

– A culture has developed in the Parliament granting the presidency whatever they ask for, he says.

According to the Office of the Auditor General, the presidency has pointed to security as being the reason why cost reduction measures have not been implemented.

Head of Department of the Property, Safety and Service Department, Terje Olsen, writes the following in an email to VG:

– In the cases where cost-cutting measures have been adopted, these have been followed up. Measures that have not been implemented are concerning important functionality that it has therefore not been desirable to follow up.

Art and expensive materials must be considered as vital in an underground post terminal and parking garage.

 

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today