The government of the Marshall Islands is speeding up the construction of a new parliament building. The urgency is because last month, a devastating fire destroyed the existing government complex.
The fire destroyed the parliament chamber, its archives section, offices and meeting rooms. The government was already planning to build a new Capitol building in Majuro.
Although there was no official report available on the possible causes of the fire, the Marshall Islands Journal says the only fire truck based near the parliament had been out of service for months. This meant that the downtown area, where most of the nation’s 20,000 people live, had no fire truck available.
Airport firefighters were called and arrived about one hour later. By that time, the fire had already destroyed the archives section and had moved into the main parliament building.
Now the Marshall Islands must build both a new parliament and Capitol building located at the same site.
Taiwan has already pledged more than $30 million to fund the Capitol building. It's not yet clear what funding sources will be used to rebuild the parliament building. But U.S. Congresswoman Amata Radewagen of American Samoa has already said she will look at options for U.S. financial support.
In a social media post, Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine vowed to start construction of a new building by the end of this year. Meanwhile, parliament members have resumed their current session in a conference center in Majuro.
