The three-storey structure currently being constructed at the Prime Minister’s residence in St Ann’s is estimated to cost $10 million and will be completed by year’s end. And it is an ’outdoor stage’, not a concert hall, says Works Minister Colm Imbert.

At yesterday’s post-Cabinet news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s, Imbert, responding to a question on the new facility at the compound, said that while he was not sure how accurate the figure was, he had been told that the cost was $10 million.

’If it is accurate, it is certainly value for money ... from the size of what I am seeing here (in the structure),’ he said.

He said it was an outdoor stage, not a concert hall.

’It is a stage that allows for performances to be done outdoors, he said.

In a release issued on Tuesday, the Office of the Prime Minister stated that the building was part of the original concept for the compound and would be equipped with a stage, dressing room for artistes, toilet facilities for performers and guests, a holding area and storage space for equipment, such as tents and tables.

It will also include a media lounge, a drivers’ lounge and a garage.