US Embassy opens $50-M building for consular services

The United States (US) Embassy in Manila formally opened on Wednesday its new $50-million annex building that houses its consular services facilities and other offices. The new building houses Consular services and other offices and has 99 windows for passport, visa, and other Consular service applications. "The new indoor waiting area alone can seat more than 550 applicants at any one time," the Embassy said. Meanwhile, the Embassy’s new Veterans Affairs (VA) building, which Thomas inaugurated last April 13, is also part of the Embassy’s facilities improvement project. The VA building at the Embassy’s Seafront Compound in Pasay City houses the benefits office and an out-patient clinic with modern facilities and state-of-the-art laboratories accredited by the College of American Pathologists. US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. described the building as “a work of art on a grand scale." “Finally, the quality of the facility matches the quality of the people who work here," he said of the new building at 1201 Roxas Boulevard compound in Manila's Ermita district. The building is part of a larger Embassy facilities improvement project that represents a $130-million investment in the local economy and the creation of 2,000 jobs for Filipinos. The US Embassy said this is the largest contract yet awarded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations to a foreign contractor. Those present at the opening rites on Wednesday were Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Manila Vice Mayor Francisco Domagoso (a.k.a. Isko Moreno). Also at the event was Rodney Evans, managing director of Overseas Building Operations at the U.S. Department of State. - VVP, GMA News